KANDHAMAL-CONVERSION 2 LAST

According to the provisions of the OFRA, one has to
intimate the district authorities about changing one's
religion.

The former collector also admitted that cases relating
to issue of fake certificates, government land encroachment
and transfer of tribal land to non-tribals took place in
Kandhamal.

"During my tenure, there were cases of issuance of caste
certificates to ineligible persons, but they were not many,"
Singh said.

Inspector General of police (Law and Order) Arun Kumar
Sarangi, who was also cross-examined, stated that there were
indications that Maoists supported a particular community in
the riots.

Sarangi who was IG (operations) dealing with Maoist
problems during the Kandhamal riots said, "Maoists used a
particular section of people to expand their network in
Kandhamal."

He admitted that those who attacked a police station
at Brahmanigaon in Kandhamal on December 27, 2007, were
trained people and not villagers in general.

However, he refused to say whether Maoists had trained
the villagers. PTI