BHUBANESHWAR, India: Maoist rebels say they murdered a hard-line Hindu leader whose death triggered violence between Hindus and Christians that left dozens dead, a television news channel reported on Sunday.

Right-wing Hindu groups had blamed Christians for the Aug. 24 killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati in the eastern state of Orissa.

They set fire to a Christian orphanage, and mobs attacked churches and Christian-owned shops and homes. At least 28 people have been killed in villages across the state.

A Maoist group claimed responsibility for the killing of the Hindu religious leader and accused the state government of stoking tensions between Hindus and Christians, the NDTV news channel reported.

We ordered (the) death penalty for Swami Laxmanananda,” Sabyasachi Panda of the Orissa branch of the Communist Party of India-Maoist told NDTV. Panda said the Hindu leader and his followers had falsely accused Christians of killing cows, which are holy for Hindus, and forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity. This forced us to attack him,” NDTV quoted Panda as saying. Panda said rebels left two letters claiming responsibility for the murders, but local officials suppressed them.

The state government made it look like Christian groups are responsible for the attack,” NDTV quoted him as saying. Christian leaders have also criticised the state government, saying officials haven’t done enough to stop the violence. Senior police official Manmohan Praharaj declined to comment.

Subash Chouhan, a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, the umbrella organisation of Hindu nationalist groups, dismissed the Maoists’ claims.

We don’t believe what he said,” Chouhan said. Why all of a sudden so many days after the incident has he come and spoken to the television channels?”