Date:04/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/04/stories/2008100457410100.htm

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Patil warns Orissa government

Vinay Kumar

NEW DELHI: Concerned over the continuing communal violence in Orissa’s Kandhamal district, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on Friday asked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to review the situation and take effective measures.

He asked him to make optimum use of Central para-military forces. In a letter to the Chief Minister, Mr. Patil told the State government that the total number of companies of Central forces made available to the State had gone up to 77.

“Merely continuing to ask for additional forces after every few days cannot be the solution to the violence being witnessed in the State,” he warned.

Earlier, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presiding over a Cabinet meeting sought a detailed report from Mr. Patil on the situation in Orissa and Karnataka.