Bhubaneswar: Senior BJD MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain on Tuesday raised serious concern in the Odisha Assembly over the deteriorating law and order situation in Malkangiri district, describing it as rapidly turning into a “mini-Manipur”. 

Swain raised the issue of violence in Malkangiri district during the Zero Hour in the Odisha Assembly on Tuesday.

Speaking to media persons outside the House, Swain said the district was witnessing growing tribal and ethnic tensions among communities, posing a grave threat to constitutionally guaranteed rights.

He urged the Speaker, as the custodian of the House, to direct the Chief Minister to apprise the Assembly about the prevailing situation in the district where incidents of arson, looting and murders were allegedly taking place in broad daylight.

“The situation is extremely volatile. People are openly mobilising, and it could explode at any moment. Such acts must be controlled with a heavy hand and should not be allowed to continue,” Swain said.

Drawing a parallel with the violence in Manipur, the BJD legislator said Malkangiri, being a far-flung and border district of Odisha, required urgent and focused attention from the government. Swain demanded that the state government clearly outline the steps being taken to restore peace, promote harmony among communities, protect lives and livelihoods, and prevent further escalation.

He also called for the formation of peace committees at the local level. Stressing the role of the Assembly, Swain said that if the government fails to effectively handle the situation, the House should step in. He proposed that an all-party delegation, led by the Speaker, visit Malkangiri to assess the ground situation and help restore a semblance of peace.

Meanwhile, Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari on Tuesday said the situation in Malkangiri is now fully under control. Clarifying the background, the Minister said sporadic conflicts between tribal and non-tribal communities have occurred in the region in the past, mostly over land-related issues.

“The Director General of Police and the Revenue Divisional Commissioner of the Southern Division were instructed to visit Malkangiri, assess the ground situation, speak to local residents and restore peace,” he said.

The Minister informed that the DGP, RDC, Collector and Superintendent of Police are currently present in the affected area, with adequate police deployment already in place. Refuting comparisons with Manipur, Pujari said the Malkangiri incident cannot be equated with large-scale ethnic violence elsewhere.

Notably, the murder of a tribal widow reportedly due to some land-related dispute and the subsequent recovery of her body floating in a local river after four days has triggered widespread violence by the tribals of the Rakhalguda and adjoining villages of the Malkangiri district on Sunday and Monday. 

Thousands of agitators ransacked, burnt down houses, vehicles and other properties of almost all the residents of the nearby MV-26 village.