Odisha: 19 held for setting Phiringia police station on fire

Bhubaneswar: A day after a mob set Phiringia police station on fire, the cops in Kandhamal district of Odisha arrested as many as 19 persons in connection with the incident on Sunday.

“We have booked altogether 40 people in connection with the incident. Our officials have arrested at least 19 among them, including the mastermind of the incident, by conducting a series of raids in the locality. Steps are being taken to nab the remaining accused persons,” said Kandhamal Superintendent of Police (SP) Subhendu Patra.

Earlier in the day, Phiringia police station Inspector In-Charge (IIC) Tapan Kumar Nahak was transferred to the district police headquarters for his alleged involvement in ganja smuggling.

This apart, two home guards—Prashant Patra and Rabi Digal—were relieved from their work over the same allegation.

“We have imposed Section-144 of the CrPC at Phiringia and deployed five platoons of police force in the locality. We are now conducting a probe regarding the alleged involvement of some police officials in illegal ganja trade,” said the SP.

Notably, hundreds of villagers yesterday set Phiringia police station on fire and assaulted a police officer in connection with the alleged involvement of some cops in the ganja smuggling.

The mob also torched a police vehicle and set several tonnes of seized ganja on fire, sources said.