Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Gumudumaha, July 19:

An eerie silence envelops the tribal hamlet Gumudumaha as the grief-stricken families are yet to come to terms following the killing of five persons of the village in Odisha’s Kandhamal district even after 12 days post the alleged botched up anti-Maoist operation.

kandhamal firing victim

While politicking over the killing of innocent tribals and Dalits continues to dominate the media space, the kin of the deceased are not performing mana (purification rituals) of the departed souls as they are yet to receive ‘compensation’.

As per Kui community customs, the members of the accused family compensate the victim’s family financially to foot the expenses towards the purification rites in the event of death due to murder.

“As per the Kui Samaj traditions, if a member of the community kills another then he/she is penalized to bear all the expenses towards the last rites. In this case, the SOG jawans have killed the villagers. They won’t be able to pay the money. So, the state government should bear the expenses which will be around Rs 1- Rs 1.5 lakh,” prominent tribal leader and Kui Samaj Samanwaya Samiti (KSSS) Secretary Lambodhar Kanhar said.

On the other hand, the villagers are in a state of fear as police have been deployed in the village.