Wednesday, January 4 2006 09:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bhubaneswar: Even as the tremors continued after yesterday's violence at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district resulting in 13 deaths, the Orissa government yesterday (Jan 04, 2006) decided to hold a judicial inquiry into the incidents by a sitting judge of the High Court.

The Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court would be requested to nominate a sitting judge for the purpose who would inquire into the whole incident, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said here.

The carnage turned into a huge political issue with the opposition parties holding the chief minister responsible for the incidents while urging the people to observe a 'protest day' on January seven.

"We are asking the people to paralyse the state on that day demanding the chief minister's resignation", OGP president Bijoy Mohapatra told a news conference here.

Mohapatra said the call for the protest was given by the Kalinga Nagar Surakhya Parishad, which had been endorsed by seven opposition parties including the Congress.

Leaders of the CPI, CPI(M), JMM, Janata Dal(S) and Samajwadi Party were present at the press conference.

Meanwhile, tension continued to prevail at Kalinga Nagar as hundreds of tribals, armed with their traditional weapons, squatted on the busy Daitari-Paradip Express Highway with the bodies of four of the victims.

Refusing to part with the bodies, they sat on the road since last evening demanding payment of a minimum compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased and action against the district collector and SP 'whom they held responsible' for the incidents.