Bhubaneswar, An order prohibiting the assembly of four or more people has been issued here to prevent Hindu groups from carrying out processions to mourn their leader's Aug 23 killing, which sparked communal violence in Orissa, officials said Saturday.

The prohibitory order under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was clamped in at least five places in the city Friday night after radical Hindu groups - the Vishwa Hindu Parisad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal - announced that they will take out processions here Saturday to mourn the killing of Swami Laxmananda Saraswati.

Saraswati, a central advisory committee member of the VHP, and four others were shot dead by unknown gunmen at his Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal district Aug 23.

The police suspect Maoist rebels killed them but some Hindu groups blamed Christians for the murder and went on the rampage. Christian groups have repeatedly denied the charge.

Since the evening of Aug 23, the state has witnessed communal violence in which 16 people have died and thousands have been rendered homeless. It forced the government to deploy police and paramilitary forces in 12 of the 30 districts of Orissa.

Fearing renewed violence during Saturday's processions, Archbishop of Cuttack Raphael Cheenath filed a petition seeking intervention of the Supreme Court earlier this week. The court sought a report from the state government.

The Orissa government Thursday assured the court that the government would not allow any procession in the state.

However, senior Bajrang Dal leader Subash Chauhan said people have every right to mourn and perform rituals for their religious leader.

"If the government thinks it is illegal, let it stop the people," he challenged.

Orissa is not new to communal violence between Hindus and Christians.

On Jan 22, 1999, Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, 10-year-old Philip and six-year-old Timothy, were burnt alive by a Hindu mob in their vehicle in Keonjhar district.

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