Sundargarh: Palpable tension prevails in Odisha’s Sundargarh town following a violent clash between two communities on Tuesday. According to reports, the incident took place during a protest rally by some members of a community of Masjid Pada against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on Monday when a group of BJP activists of Ghasipada dragged a youth from the rally and severely thrashed him.
As tension ran high in the town following the incident, police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. There was repeat incident at night when the two communities had a face-off near Regent Market. But the police managed to pacify both the groups.
Apprehending an untoward incident, the district administration had deployed police force at sensitive locations. Despite the preventive measure, violence erupted in the town again on Tuesday when members of the two communities of the locality pelted stones at each other at about 12 pm. As the situation went out of control, police resorted to a mild lathi-charge to disperse the irate mob.
To restore normalcy, police later conducted a flag march in the town.
Talking to mediapersons, Sundargarh SP Soumya Mishra said four platoons of force including one platoon of Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP) have been deployed in the town to maintain law and order. “The situation is tense but under control. We are constantly monitoring the situation and have intensified patrolling in the town to avert any untoward incident,” she added.
