Police recovered 12 country made pistols from Brahmanigaon village of Orissa’s violence hit Kandhamal district on Monday.

According to police, the unlicensed arms were seized during a raid on the village and adjoining areas. Twenty people have been arrested. The pistols were suspected to have been used during the recent violence in the village. Brahmanigaon, it may be recalled, was the epicenter of the recent communal riots in the tribal district.

In fact, a Hindu-Musim clash in the remote village on the eve of Christmas had triggered the communal violence in the entire Kandhamal district.

There was also a gun-battle in the village between the police and an armed mob which wanted to set the local police station on fire. The police also arrested seven people from Baliguda and Barkhama areas.

Meanwhile, the state government announced a package for the affected people in the riot hit district which included a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each for the families of the three persons who have officially been declared

killed in the violence.

Bangalore based Global Council of Indian Christians had staged a dharna here on Sunday and demanded a compensation package for the riot hit people.

The package also includes Rs 10,000 to those whose houses have been partially damaged. The government would provide houses under Indira Awas Yojana(IAY) to those whose homes have been completely damaged in the riots.