Odisha BJP writes to Home Minister Amit Shah, seeks NIA investigation into Sambalpur violence

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today sought the urgent intervention of the Centre into the attack on Hanuman Jayanti procession in Sambalpur on April 14.

In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Odisha unit BJP president Manmohan Samal and the elected MPs and MLAs of the party have urged the Centre to direct the state government to take necessary measures to restore law and order in Sambalpur and ensure communal harmony in the western Odisha city.

Besides, the letter urged the Centre to ask the state government to take immediate steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents in Odisha in future.

“We strongly condemn this heinous act of communal violence and demand impartial investigation by the NIA to unravel the conspiracy behind the incident,” said the BJP leaders in their letter to Shah.

In the letter, the BJP leaders have alleged that the law and order situation has deteriorated in Sambalpur following clashes due to the orchestrated violent attack on the bike rally ahead of the Hanuman Jayanti by the members of certain community.

“The coordinated attack on the bike rally on April 12 had left several persons, including some policemen, grievously injured. The incident also led to torching of shops, vehicles and private properties in Sambalpur,” said the letter.

A tribal youth was killed and several others sustained injuries in an attack by a mob on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti in the western Odisha city on April 14, it added.

The administration has clamped curfew in Sambalpur soon after the incident and suspended internet service in the locality, highlighted the lwtter.

“The violence and arson in Sambalpur during the Hanuman Jayanti procession and a day before has exposed the poor intelligence network of Odisha Police and the lack of foresight in its part to ascertain the consequences of inadequate security arrangement during the festival. The Odisha Police has miserably failed to follow the advisory issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs for smooth organisation of Hanuman Jayanti festival,” alleged the BJP leaders in their letter.

The BJP leaders further alleged that the attacks on the bike rally and Hanuman Jayanti procession were preplanned and well-coordinated.

“As per an FIR lodged by the police, around 200 persons of a particular community armed with swords, iron rods and sticks attacked the motor cycle rally on April 12. The police have admitted that the communal riot was preplanned. The attackers also raised certain objectionable and anti-national slogans to incite communal violence. Such sloganeering by the mob is not acceptable and amounts to crime that needs to deal with strict laws like UAPA and NSA,” said the BJP leaders.

The situation in Sambalpur is the result of callous police administration, which despite the advisory of the MHA, preferred not to make adequate security arrangements for the bike rally on April 12, they alleged.

“We wonder why the police did not arrest the conspirators beforehand. It seems that the conspirators have the backing of the ruling party in Odisha. We also want to point out the issue of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in the locality. There have been reports of illegal trade of firearms and weapons in this area,” said the letter.