Saraswati rejected govt security: ex-Kandhamal SP

VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati had rejected police request for deployment of security personnel within the campus of Jalespeta ashram.

VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati,whose killing last year had triggered riots,had rejected police request for deployment of security personnel within the campus of Jalespeta ashram on the grounds that it would not suit its atmosphere.

This was stated by Nikhil Kumar Kanodia,the then Kandhamal SP,before the inquiry commission probing the killing of Saraswati and four others on August 23 and incidents of violence in its aftermath.

“We wanted to keep armed guards for patrolling-cum protection duty for Saraswati and unarmed guards within the ashram campus for elaborate safety measures. But,it was straightway rejected by Saraswati”,Kanodia said in his affidavit to the one-man judicial commission headed by Justice S C Mohapatra.

Kanodia,who was immediately suspended from duty after the killing of Saraswati,also informed the inquiry commission that he wanted security inside the premises of Jalespeta ashram in Kandhamal as it was located in a secluded place. However,this could not be done due to “total non-cooperation” of Saraswati,he said.

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