The government of the Indian state of Kerala has offered to shelter 56 refugees from Orissa, most of whom had fled the state following threats and beatings by Hindu mobs avenging the murder of a Hindu leader.
Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan met a group of riot victims who told of the violence in Kandhamal district, long a trouble spot for violence against Christians.
The Chief Minister said the state government would accommodate them in various centres under the social welfare department.
Achuthanandan said that the refugees were mentally and physically weak and that treatment, food and clothes would be taken care of by the state government.
The riot victims told the chief minister that they had been continuously targeted over the last year and were hiding in the woods to escape attacks by the religious fanatics.
"We have not decided about the future course of rehabilitation. Many of them wanted to go back to their native places in Kandhamal district once normalcy is restored," the Chief Minister's political secretary KN Balagopal said.
The riot victims had reached Kerala in several batches with the help of human rights activists. For the last three weeks, they were given shelter in Thrissur by a Christian prayer centre.
At least 50,000 fled to forests and took shelter in relief camps following violence by Hindu mobs in Orissa since August 25. Over 60 have died and 300 churches have been burned down in one of the largest outbreaks of violence against Christians in Indian history.
