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Imran Khan in Bhubaneswar
Communal tension gripped Sikabeda village in Keonjhar district of Orissa following the killing of a Christian allegedly by Hindus.
"Tension gripped Sikabeda after a Christian convert Keshaba Tudu was killed last week by group," police sources said on Sunday.
Incidentally, Sikabeda village falls in the same Manoharpur block, which hit the headlines following killing of Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two minor sons.
Police sources said Keonjhar police had arrested three Hindus in connection with a killing of the Christian convert.
The sources said Keshaba Tudu was killed for informing the police about the possibility of an attack on Christians of his village
It was reported in vernacular newspapers that though Tudu's death was the latest catalyst in igniting Hindu-Christian friction, communal tensions have grown over the past week over the use of a well in the village.
Christians are in a minority in the village.
Though local villagers said there was communal tension in Sikabeda, state police chief NC Padhi denied that there was any tension.
There was a dispute involving people from both communities and the death was caused by personal rivalry, Padhi said and added that that the situation was peaceful in every village in the district.
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