4-Member BJP Panel To Visit Odisha On May 1 To Probe Sambalpur Violence

Bhubaneswar: The four-member committee firmed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to probe the violence during Hanuman Jayanti procession in Sambalpur will soon visit the western Odisha city.

Stating this, BJP state president Manmohan Samal said that the committee is slated to reach Sambalpur on May 1 for conducting a thorough probe into the violence that took place during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations.

The probe panel, constituted by BJP president J P Nadda, will visit the spot on May 2 as part of its inquiry.

The committee comprises Rajya Sabha members Brij Lal, Samir Oraon, Aditya Sahu and Lok Sabha MP Jyotirmay Singh Mahato. The members of the panel will prepare a report based on facts after conducting a thorough probe. The report will be submitted to the BJP President for necessary action.

It may be noted here that the Odisha unit of BJP had on April 22 written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting him to take steps for an inquiry by NIA into the violence in Sambalpur during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations.

BJP leaders alleged that the law and order situation in Sambalpur had “deteriorated” following clashes “due to the orchestrated violent attack” on a motorcycle rally on April 12, two days before the Hanuman Jayanti on April 14, which left several people, including some policemen, grievously injured.

The violence and arson “exposed the poor intelligence network of the Odisha Police and the lack of foresight on its part to ascertain the consequences of “inadequate security arrangement during the festival”, the letter further said.

It pointed out that some attackers had raised certain objectionable and anti-national slogans to incite communal violence. “Such sloganeering by the mob is not acceptable and amounts to crime that needs to be dealt with strict laws,” the BJP leaders said.

The saffron party also claimed that a tribal youth was killed and several others were injured in another attack by a mob in Sambalpur on April 14.

Meanwhile, the Sambalpur administration has relaxed the curfew and internet restrictions imposed in the city in the aftermath of the violence following overall improvement in the situation.