NEW DELHI, Sept 3: India's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered eastern Orissa state to report on steps taken to stop a wave of anti-Christian rioting that has claimed at least 16 lives, a court official said.

Some 200 people have been arrested in connection with the riots that have left 13,000 people, mostly Christians, sheltering under police guard in seven camps in Orissa's Kandhamal district.

Thousands of others have fled to the jungles after their homes, churches and prayer halls were torched.

The violence, which erupted after the August 23 murder of a popular Hindu leader by unidentified gunmen, has drawn condemnation from the Vatican.

The court's ruling, directing the Orissa administration to submit its report on Thursday, came after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered the state to punish those responsible for murder and arson.

“The court wanted to know what the state government was doing to protect the lives of people belonging to the Christian community,” the court official said.

Colin Gonzalves, counsel for the petitioner, said he had also asked the court to confirm whether the state government was permitting a radical Hindu right-winger to lead a potentially provocative procession with the ashes of the murder victim.

“This is what has been reported in the Orissa press and we wanted to know about it because it is inflammatory and provocative,” Gonzalves told AFP.

“If this is true, we have sought a stay on it.” Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil meanwhile visited Orissa and asked the government to help the riot victims.

“The state government must come out with proper plans to rehabilitate those who have suffered,” Patil told reporters in the state capital Bhubaneswar.—AFP