Force deployed in Orissa town after violence

Bhubaneswar, Nov 21 : The authorities Saturday deployed additional security forces in an Orissa town after two people were killed when tribal activists attacked a police station in the area Friday, an official said.

The gun-toting personnel were deployed at Narayan Patna in the southern district of Koraput, some 500 km from here, after a mob of over 300 attacked the police station Friday afternoon and attempted to looted weapons.

An order that prohibits the assembly of more than four people has been clamped around the police station area, Deputy Inspector General of Police Sanjeeb Panda told IANS.

"We have deployed more forces today (Saturday) to prevent further violence. I cannot disclose their number. We have also clamped prohibitory orders around the police station area," Panda said.

Police said the tribals who attacked the police station were activists of the Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha, a Maoist-backed outfit that has forcibly occupied hundreds of acres of farmland belonging to non-tribals in the district.

The police opened fire when the mob tried to loot weapons, killing two tribals. A police inspector was also injured when the mob attacked him.

The Chasi Mulia Adivasi Sangha has denied any links with Maoists and said it was fighting for the rights of tribals in the region.