Thousands attend tribal funeral

By Sandeep Sahu
BBC News, Bhubaneswar

Mourners chanted anti-government slogans. Photo: Ghani Zaman

Nearly 3,000 mourners have attended the funeral of 12 tribes people killed in clashes with police in a land dispute in India's eastern Orissa state.

The tribes people refuse to give up land they regard as theirs for a planned steel plant in Jajpur district.

At one point the tribes people used the bodies as part of road blocks.

Police say they fired in self-defence after they were attacked with arrows on Monday in Kalinganagar, 120km (80 miles) north of Bhubaneswar.

Boundary wall

Mourners chanted slogans against the police and state authorities at the funeral on Wednesday in Kalinganagar.

However, there was no fresh outbreak of violence.

A team of state ministers and officials, sent by Chief Minister Navin Patnaik to assess the situation, remained in the local police station after they were advised that their presence at the funeral might provoke the mourners.

Five tribesmen and a policeman were killed on Monday after police opened fire on crowds demonstrating against the erection of a boundary wall of the Tata Steel plant.

Another seven protesters, at least one of them a woman, died later of gunshot wounds.

On Wednesday, tribes people were still blocking the main road at Duburi in Kalinganagar and said they would continue to do so until action was taken against the district magistrate and police superintendent over the killings.

Thousands of trucks are reportedly stranded on either side of the road.