Bhubaneswar: The Malkangiri administration has extended the Internet ban, initially imposed for 48 hours, for another 12 hours till Thursday midnight, amid Odisha Deputy CM K V Singh Deo’s visit to the arson-hit MV-26.
The blanket ban on social media has been imposed to curb the spread of misinformation and rumours in the volatile MV-26, which is limping back to normalcy after Monday’s violence during which tribal groups of nearby Rakhelguda village, enraged by the murder of a 51-year-old woman, had set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee.
There were also fears that the unrest could spread to neighbouring areas or be exploited by Maoist groups active along the Odisha–Chhattisgarh border.
The curfew will also remain in force for now.
The Alleged Murder
Six days after body of Lake Podiami was found in Potteru river, her severed head was recovered from the riverbank in Namkonda on Wednesday and later buried at the same spot between Rakhalguda and MV-26, where her last rites were performed on Tuesday, in presence of Malkangiri collector Somesh Kumar Upadhyay and SP Vinodh Patil.
A youth, Subharanjan Mandal, from the Bengali community, is accused of Podiami’s murder, which is suspected to be the fall out of a land dispute.
Tight Security
The village of MV-26 is currently under 24-hour surveillance, with several CCTV cameras installed to enable the police to monitor the situation closely. Police, BSF and rapid action force teams are also camping in MV-26 and conducting regular patrolling to prevent further flare-ups.
While peace talks between tribal and Bengali representatives were finally held on Tuesday night, the Collector and SP also visited the village to reassure the Bengali families and restore their confidence.
Deputy CM In Malkangiri
Deputy CM along with Minister Gokulananda Mallik reached Malkangiri in a special flight and held discussions with the administration at the collectorate.
Members of the Bengali community, on the other hand, sought assurance for the safety of residents in their villages, compensation for the people of MV-26, and provision of free rations until paddy harvesting and government procurement were completed. They further called for stringent action against the perpetrators of the violence.
BJD Forms Fact-Finding Team
The BJD on Thursday constituted a fact-finding team following instructions from party president Naveen Patnaik to visit Malkangiri district, The team comprises Manas Madkami (to coordinate), Dabugam MLA Manohar Randhari, former ministers Rabi Nanda & Ramesh Majhi, former MP Pradeep Majhi, Ishwar Panigrahi, and MLA candidate of Chitrakonda Laxmipriya Nayak. “The team has been entrusted with the responsibility of visiting the affected areas, assessing the ground situation, and submitting a detailed report to the party president,” a BJD release said.
The Biju Janata Dal expresses its deep concern over the reported incidents of violence and urges the administration to take immediate steps to restore peace, ensure safety of the affected families, and bring the perpetrators to justice, it added.