Police carry out flag march in Odisha’s Sambalpur city ahead of festive season

Sambalpur: The district police of Sambalpur carried out a flag march in this city today evening ahead of the festive season. Hundreds of policemen led by senior officials took part in the exercise.

According to a senior official, two platoons of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and four platoons of Odisha Swift Action Force (OSAF) covered the entire city to build a sense of security among local denizens.

“As the festive season is around the corner, there is a probability that anti-social elements will become active. The drive was carried out to prevent crime in the city during Puja days and to maintain law and order as well. We are taking preventive measures as violence had occurred during the much-debated Hanuman Jayanti rally (a religious procession) taken out on Apr 12,” the senior cop expressed.

Worth mentioning, a youth was killed on the spot and two more sustained bullet injuries today in an incident of firing in A. Katapali village under Burla police limits of Sambalpur. The firing was a fallout of past enmity between two rival groups over the collection of Puja donations, an official source said.

The police source said that tension was triggered in the locality following the fatal mishap. A troop of force has been deployed to avert any untoward incident keeping in mind the palpable tension.

The deceased was identified as Khirod Tandi, who belonged to Baijamunda village in the district.

“Preliminary investigation suggests that the incident took place over the collection of Puja donations. The two groups had enmity for the last several months,” Burla police station Inspector-in-Charge said.