Bhubaneswar, July 13 - The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Orissa has demanded that a probe panel's interim report on last year's communal violence that claimed 38 lives in Kandhamal district be made public.

'Everybody wants to know what happened in Kandhamal. The government should make this report public for the greater interest of the state and the country,' state BJP president Suresh Pujari told IANS Monday.

The one-man commission of retired justice S.C. Mohapatra submitted an interim report of 28 pages to the state government June 1.

Although the report has not yet been made public, the commission is believed to have suggested that the state government take several measures to prevent further violence in the region.

Kandhamal district, some 200 km from here, witnessed communal violence following the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his aides Aug 23 last year.

Over 25,000 Christians were forced to flee after their houses were attacked by mobs. Although no communal violence has been reported from the region since October last year, nearly 1,200 people are still living in three government-run relief camps.