KalingaTimes Correspondent
Bhubaneswar, Aug 27: The death toll in the communal violence triggered by the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Lakshmanananda in Odisha has increased to five, official sources said on Tuesday.

Three persons were killed when their houses were set afire in Raikia area of Kandhamal district on Monday night.

Police, however, had not been able to reach the spot of the violence till Tuesday afternoon due to blocking of roads by the protestors.

The Swami and four others were killed by suspected Maoists at Jalespata in Kandhamal district on Saturday night.

One person was killed in Tikabali area of Kandhamal on Sunday night, while a woman inmate of an orphanage was burnt alive in Bargarh district during Monday's 12-hour-long statewide bandh called by the VHP.

Meanwhile, the authorities on Tuesday imposed indefinite curfew in Kandhamal as the situation remained tense and reports were received about burning of churches and prayer houses.

Initially, curfew was imposed in a few towns of the district on Sunday. The protestors, however, had defied curfew and resorted to violence during the VHP-sponsored bandh on Monday.

Additional security forces, including Rapid Action Force(RAF), had also been deployed in all major towns of Kandhamal to restore peace.

According to reports, the administration was finding it difficult to cope with the situation in the interior areas of Kandhamal due to blocking of roads by felling trees and lack of road connectivity.

In many interior areas, those belonging to the Christian community had fled their homes and went inside forests apprehending attacks by the followers and supporters of the Swami.