Group Clash In Bhubaneswar: Police Remove Roadside Shop Of Accused

Bhubaneswar: A day after a clash between two gangs of anti-socials at Master Canteen in the city, the Commissionerate Police on Tuesday removed a roadside shop belonging to one of the accused, Raja Behera.

A police team reached Master Canteen and tore the polythene cover draped on the temporary shop. They also searched the shop and later removed it.

Some shop owners at Master Canteen told police that a group led by one Sahid had a long-standing enmity with Raja, who used to allegedly sell ganja, brown sugar and liquor at his betel shop.

The members of Sahid group would often threaten Raja and forcibly take away snacks from his shop.

This had led to an altercation between Sahid and Raja’s brother Rakesh on the night of July 24. The next day Shahid and four youths from Mali Sahi came to Raja’s shop and threatened him with dire consequences.

Frustrated with the constant threats, Raja called 10-12 friends from Khandagiri and Phalikia slum to help him. The friends came to his shop with swords and iron rods around 1.30 pm on Monday. Soon after their arrival, Sahid and his aides also arrived at the spot with sharp weapons.

Soon, the two groups attacked each other. Three members of the Sahid group were seriously injured in the clash.

Surprisingly, police had no information about the violence in the area which turned into a battleground for nearly half an hour.

Later, Capital Police later arrived at the spot and admitted the three injured persons to Capital Hospital.

ACP Manas Gadnayak told the media that police will remove all roadside shops from the Master Canteen area.