Odisha: Fresh push for peace in riot-scarred Malkangiri

Two senior Odisha ministers travelled to violence-scarred Malkangiri on Thursday, as the state government sought to restore order after days of communal tension between tribal residents and long-settled Bengali families. The district administration, still wary of fresh flare-ups or the circulation of inflammatory rumours, extended its suspension of internet services by a further 12 hours.

Deputy chief minister K.V. Singh Deo and MSME minister Gokulananda Mallick arrived in Malkangiri town in the morning and convened a high-level review meeting with the collector, the ADGP in charge of anti-Naxal operations, the DIG (southern range) and the superintendent of police. The briefing focused on MV-26 village, the epicentre of the recent clashes, where officials noted that no fresh violence had been reported for 60 hours.

The unrest began earlier in the week when a tribal mob from neighbouring Rakhelguda allegedly stormed the Bengali settlement at MV-26 on Sunday and Monday. The attack followed the discovery of the headless body of a tribal woman on the banks of the Poteru river on 4 December. Her severed head, found nearly 15 km away on Wednesday, deepened local anger and suspicion. Tribals believed that a man from MV-26 was responsible for the killing, which they linked to a long-running dispute over sharecropping arrangements.

In response to appeals from district authorities, the home department imposed further restrictions on digital communication. “As per the request of Collector and District Magistrate, the Home Department extends prohibition of the use and access of social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, X and any other through internet and other medium of data services for another 12 hours till 12:00 midnight of today (11.12.2025) in Malkangiri district,” a notification stated.

Internet blackouts have become a common administrative tool in Odisha’s tribal belt during communal or land-related tensions, particularly in districts vulnerable to both misinformation and Naxal influence.

During his visit, Singh Deo also met representatives of the Malkangiri Bengali Samaj (MBS) and the District Adivasi Samaj Mahasangh, each of whom submitted memoranda outlining their concerns. He urged all communities to cooperate with the administration in restoring normalcy and emphasised that maintaining peace was “paramount”.

The MBS, representing Bengali families resettled in the 1960s under a Central government rehabilitation programme, expressed fears for the safety of a community that has lived in the tribal-dominated district for six decades. Calling for a high-level probe into both the MV-26 violence and the Rakhelguda murder case, the MBS accused “influential people” of orchestrating the attacks.

According to MBS president Gouranga Karmakar, “The people were saved as they fled from the scene, but their houses were destroyed and torched by the mob. All the houses were burned to ashes. After the attack, the way houses were damaged and burnt, some evidence was found of the use of dynamite and gelatin. We cannot deny the involvement of Maoist ultras behind such an attack.”

The group demanded government assistance for the next cropping season, including free seeds and fertilisers, arguing that families had “lost everything” in the violence.

Tribal groups, however, presented a sharply different narrative. They claimed that non-tribal settlers were forcibly encroaching on tribal land, and alleged that Malkangiri had seen a rise in crime due to the arrival of “infiltrators” during the 1970s and 1980s. The District Adivasi Samaj Mahasangh accused non-tribals of fraudulently acquiring tribal plots and encroaching on community land, saying the failure to properly implement protective legislation such as the PESA (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act had left indigenous families vulnerable.

The organisation also insisted that the family of the murdered tribal woman be granted land rights over the plot she had been cultivating. “She was killed over the land dispute, and her family should be given rights over that piece of land,” the petition stated.

Police have since arrested a 42-year-old man from MV-26 who allegedly killed the woman over a sharecropping disagreement, though the investigation remains ongoing.

With tensions easing, more than 300 displaced residents of MV-26 have returned to their homes. A substantial deployment of BSF personnel and the Odisha Armed Police Force remains in place to prevent any recurrence of violence.

Meanwhile, the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) announced the formation of a fact-finding committee, following directives from party president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The team has been tasked with visiting the affected areas, assessing the conditions on the ground and submitting a report to the party leadership.

With PTI inputs