Internet Services Suspended For Another 24 Hours In Odisha’s Sambalpur

Sambalpur: Internet services will remain suspended for another 24 hours, till 10 am on Tuesday, in the strife-torn western Odisha town of Sambalpur, Collector Ananya Das informed on Monday.

The internet services have been shut down in the district since April 13, a day after  communal violence broke out in the town during a Hanuman Jayanti procession, to curb circulation of inflammatory messages and prevent misuse of social media.

With the town limping back to normalcy with no report of any untoward incident being reported since Friday, curfew timings have, however, been relaxed from 7.30 am to 11.30 am and 3.30 pm to 6 pm to allow more window period for people to go out of their homes for their daily activities. Earlier, the relaxation period was from 8 am to 11 am and 3.30 pm to 5.30 pm.

Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination and the preliminary examination for Orissa high court’s assistant sector officers’ posts were also held peacefully in the town on Sunday.

Meanwhile, police arrested six more for their alleged involvement in the Sambalpur violence on the basis of the CCTV footage, taking the total to 85. Till Sunday, 79 people – 26 in connection with the stone pelting incident on April 12 during a motorbike rally and 53 for violence and arson during the Hanuman Jayanti procession on April 14, were taken into custody.

Sambalpur SP B Gangadhar had earlier stated that the violence appeared to be pre-planned.

“We are optimistic that the curfew may be lifted in two to three days,” DGP Sunil K Bansal told the media after reviewing the situation.

While the stone pelting on a bike rally left 10 people, including two police inspectors, injured, Sambalpur police also failed to check the subsequent violence during Hanuman Jayanti procession despite prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPc.