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The Centre has asked the state government to take measures including identification and apprehension of the elements who continue to stoke communal violence and hatred and indulge in disruptive activities, official spokesperson quoted Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta as saying to Orissa Chief Secretary A K Tripathi in a message.

The message said repeated incidents of violence which indicate that anti-social elements continue to be active is a matter of serious concern and cannot be allowed to continue.

The Centre has called for stringent action against all those perpetrators of violence, who may already have been arrested, and to bring them to justice, the spokesperson said in a statement.

This is the second message sent to Orissa in less than a week. Earlier on September 19, the Centre had sent an advisory asking to control the violence and restore normalcy.

In the message today, the Centre said in view the continuing incidents of violence against members of a minority community in Kandhamal district, the state government should take "effective, focussed and firm measures" to stop the violence and restore peace and normalcy.

"Precautionary and preventive measures, including patrolling of vulnerable areas is necessary," he said.