Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal on Thursday urged the state government to form a high-level panel to probe the communal violence that erupted in Sambalpur on Wednesday evening.
“A motorcycle rally taken out to mark Hanuman Jayanti celebrations in Sambalpur town was going on peacefully on Wednesday evening. However, the manner in which some anti-social elements pelted stones, attacked people with swords, hit them with lathis, and burnt their vehicles was very painful and condemnable,” Samal said in a press statement here.
More than 10 policemen and those who took part in the rally were injured in the incident.
“Who is disturbing peace-loving Odisha and why the state government is tight-lipped is a big question,” Samal said.
“Though a day has passed since the incident, why is the Chief Minister, who also holds the home portfolio, silent?” the BJP leader questioned.
Claiming that the failure of the police department in the incident is visible, Samal said, “Before the procession, the Hanuman Jayanthi Samanoya Samithi had requested the district administration to deploy more police personnel in the communally sensitive areas. But the government did not pay heed to the request.”
Though few policemen were deployed for the rally, they remained silent spectators during the violence, the BJP leader alleged.
Samal also asked whether there is pressure on the police not to arrest the rioters from the ruling party.
The state BJP chief also said that if the Odisha police are incapable, the state government should immediately request the Union government to deploy central forces.
He also demanded that the state government should set up a high-level committee to investigate the incident and arrest all the rioters within 24 hours.
Similarly, senior BJP leader and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan alleged that the law and order situation has completely collapsed in Odisha.
“Police personnel getting injured in a clash is a classic case of deterioration in the law and order situation in the state,” he said, adding that the Odisha government has failed to maintain law and order in Sambalpur, a city where Hanuman Jayanti celebrations are being held for a long time.
Not only the police, several civilians were also attacked and left injured in the incident, Pradhan said.
Reacting to Pradhan’s statement, BJD spokesperson Shreemayee Mishra said, “The law and order situation is worse in the BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and even in Madhya Pradesh from where Pradhan has been elected to the Rajya Sabha.”
Such incidents are sensitive matters and should be dealt with restraint rather than by politicising them, Mishra said.
“To handle the law and order situation firmly, all necessary steps have been taken to ensure normalcy and peace which is evident to everybody,” the BJD leader added.
Meanwhile, Sambalpur Superintendent of Police, B. Gangadhar, said that 43 persons have been detained in connection with Wednesday’s violence.
The police conducted a flag march from the Zilla School Chawk to the Gengutipali Chawk on Thursday to maintain law and order in the town.
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