MP Aparajita seeks Odisha CM’s intervention for normalcy in clash-hit village in Bhubaneswar

Chinmayee Dash Published On : Nov 18, 2023 at 11:26 AM

Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his intervention to bring back peace and normalcy in group clash-hit Padmakesharipur village on the city outskirts.

Expressing her concern over the present situation in the village in the Bhubaneswar (North) Assembly segment where over 100 locals have been in jail in the past three months following a group clash, the parliamentarian wrote to the CM to have kind attention without delay.

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Sarangi had recently visited Padmakesharipur village under Mancheswar police limits and found the situation in the violence-hit village ‘very panic’.

She said that about 150 villagers were arrested and lodged in jail for the past three months after a group clash. She requested the government to ascertain the cause of the clash and form a peace committee to restore normalcy in the village.

“The village lies just 16 km from Odisha Secretariat. It is pathetic to behold the sight of the few residents in the village. A terrible atmosphere of fear, insecurity, and pathos is seen and felt. Police action might have been necessary however, it was all the more required on the part of the state government to get at the root cause of the problem and form peace committee immediately. Restoration of normalcy should have been the prime agenda of the state government in such a situation. Three months have passed, villagers are in jail, but no visible action for restoration of normalcy by the state government is seen,” the BJP MP wrote.

According to reports, the male persons in families started leaving village out of fear following a group clash erupted between the locals of Talasahi and Majhisahi in Padmakesharipur village in Patia area allegedly over a past rivalry in September. The situation turned worse on October 26 night when the two groups indulged in brawl again attacking each other with stones, fatal weapons leaving over 20 villagers injured.

The Commissionerate Police imposed section 144 around the village, deploying two platoons of force to bring the situation under control. The police detained many villagers in connection with the incident.