Balasore: A trivial comment on social media spiralled into a violent confrontation at Kulhachada village in Baliapal block of Odisha’s Balasore district on Sunday, leaving 4 people of a family critically injured.
According to sources, long-standing tensions between the families of Fazlu Khan and Sheikh Lalu boiled over after a heated exchange over a social media remark. What began as a verbal spat turned into a full-blown clash, with both sides attacking each other with sticks an
d sharp weapons.
Eyewitnesses reported chaos in the village as the fight intensified, forcing locals to flee for safety.
The injured were rushed to community health centre at Baliapal and later shifted to district headquarters hospital at Balasore owing to the severity of their condition. “One of the attackers, who is a relative, started hurling abuses when I was taking my wife, who is eight months pregnant, to the hospital in an auto. When I responded, the situation turned into a physical scuffle,” said a victim.
An injured woman alleged that a group of 10-15 people intercepted and attacked them with sharp weapons.
While police have launched an investigation to ascertain the sequence of events, leading to the clash, a platoon of force has been deployed in the area to prevent flare-ups. Baliapadl SDPO is closely monitoring the situation, sources added.