This was after a meeting by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the village the previous day where it was decided to remove the symbol.
Violence broke out when a mob of 2000 people, reportedly followers of the Sangh Parivar reached the hill at the same time and painted an image of the trishul.
Some villagers blamed the RSS, the VHP and the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram for instigating communal hatred and said that they were living peacefully before for generations.
The Christians in the village claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used the symbol to provoke hostility between both the communities.
Ranalai is a Christian majority village in the Gajapati district in southern Orissa bordering Andhra Pradesh.
In the meantime, some Christians in the village reported the incident to the local police station and asked for security for a perceived attack.
As determined by the committee, 10 people belonging to the Hindu community went to the Khamani Hill on March 15 to remove the present symbol.
At this same time, a crowd of around 2,000 people, reportedly adherents of the Sangh Parivar, gathered on the hill and painted the "trishul", the sign of Shiva.
[13] The victims were forced to take shelter below trees as the temperature soared to 40 degree Celsius due to the lack of speedy medical services.
[9] As per news reports, the affected inhabitants of Ranalai attributed the attack to a public meeting organized by the BJP in the area on 1 February 1999.
Initially the Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang was quiet on this statement, he later explained that he'd been awaiting to "ascertain facts".
The NCM stated that a senior BJP leader had sparked the religious emotions of the recent rally and asked the Hindus to paint a trishula over the cross.
[1] The nature of violence and the fact that certain people from outside village were involved in it are all remarkably similar to incidents that have occurred in other parts of the country.
This could only be feasible with an organized and planned attack.The Christians claimed that since the local police had stood with the attackers who were arrested, they were granted bail.
In October 2020, Ranalai's villagers also claimed that during the 1999 Indian general election, miscreants attacked them for not endorsing the BJP.