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In a horrific scene, 10 chopped palms were recovered from Kalinga Nagar area on Sunday, which cops suspect are of the tribals killed in the 2006 police firing.
The tribals were killed during a protest against land acquisition for a steel plant in Kalinga Nagar in January 2006.
Tension gripped Odisha's Jajpur area when police found five pairs of chopped palms, which were preserved in a medical box in a club near the site.
Last night (Saturday), some miscreants broke the club's window and entered it. They took away the box containing the chopped palms and dumped them in the area, he said.
So far, no formal complaint has been lodged in this regard, Meena said, adding that heavy police force has been deployed in the area to maintain strict vigil.
At least 13 tribals were killed during the police firing.
Doctors conducting post-mortem of the bodies had to cut the palms of five victims to obtain their fingerprints as they could not be identified, the police said.
The chopped palms were given to the deceased tribals' family members a couple of years ago, but they refused to accept them and demanded a DNA test, they said.
Following this, they were preserved in the medical box and kept in the club, they said.
(With PTI inputs)
