Curfew To Continue In Odisha’s Balasore Town Till Midnight; Only Essential Services Allowed

Sambalpur: Curfew in the areas under Balasore municipality, following a face-off between two groups over alleged animal slaughter, will continue till midnight of June 19 (Wednesday). 

While commercial establishments as well as private and government-run institutions remained shut, entry points to Balasore town have been sealed. Citing tension, a notification issued by home secretary Deoranjan Kumar Singh prohibited use and access of social media platforms for 48 hours till 10 am of June 20, while internet and data services, including mobile internet, were stopped to prevent incitement of trouble.

“The situation is critical, and miscreants are circulating false and inflammatory messages through social media to disturb the public order in Balasore municipality area,” the notification issued by the home secretary said.

Relaxation, however, was extended to candidates appearing any examination and persons engaged in essential services on the production of valid ID proof.

Balasore Collector Ashish Thakare informed that armed police force led by Balasore SP Sagarika Nath conducted flag marches in sensitive areas on Tuesday evening as a confidence building exercise. “The situation is under control and steps are being taken to restore peace in the town,” he said while urging people to stay in their homes and not to step out.

Further decision will be taken after examining the situation on Wednesday evening, he added.

DGP Arun Sarangi said 40 platoons of police force have been deployed and the situation is being monitored closely.

Police said there was no fresh incident of violence after the clash. “Around 30 persons have been detained for violating curfew norms. 34 arrested persons in connection with the group clash have been forwarded to court,” said the SP.

The communal violence flared up just four days after the first-ever BJP government took oath in Odisha when some people spotted blood-stained water in a drain on Monday and staged a road blockade. The situation escalated when the two groups resorted to intense stone-pelting, leaving 10 injured. Some police personnel also suffered injuries while controlling the mob. Despite imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, a mob also damaged vehicles and pelted stones at some houses and even damaged some religious structures. Severe stone pelting was reported in Golapokhari, Motiganj, Barabati, Cinema Chhak and other areas of the town.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has asked the district collector to ensure that law and order prevailed in Balasore and normalcy was restored in the area as soon as possible. Additional director-general of police (law and order) Sanjay Kumar has been camping in the town and supervising the law and order situation along with the Balasore SP.