Bhubaneswar: At least 77 people have been arrested for the alleged group clash at Padmakesharipur village in Patia area, Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh informed on Saturday.
The clash reportedly broke out between two wards of Padmakesharpur, which have been at loggerheads since the last Panchayat elections, around 2 am late on Thursday and residents pelted stones and bottles at each other, turning the area into a battlefield. It continued till 6 this morning till Mancheswar police intervened.
Around 20 people were injured.
“Peace has been restored in the area. Three cases has been registered in connection with the incident at Mancheswar police station. Two cases have been registered under Sections 147, 148, 323, 324, 336, 337, 427, 506, 307, 149 IPC on the basis of complaints lodged by the two warring groups. And other lodged by police under Sections 143, 147, 353, 336, 294, 506, 307, 149 IPC. Further investigation is on. Others involved in the clash will be identified and strict action will be taken against them,” the DCP said.
“The arrested are being forwarded to court today,” Singh added.
To bring the situation under control, Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed in the village with the deployment of two platoons of police force. The clash erupted less than two months after a similar incident in the village in which over 10 persons, including two children, sustained critical injures, on September 11. Police had then arrested around 12 persons.
