Police have arrested eight people following a communal clash in Odisha’s Gajapati district that was triggered by a drunken brawl.
The violence, which took place in Chandipur village under the Mohana police station limits on Monday evening, resulted in injuries to ten people, police said on Wednesday.
In the unrest, the residence of a local BJD leader was reportedly targeted and attacked.
Gajapati SP Jatindra Kumar Panda informed, “We have arrested eight people after going through the CCTV footage of the communal clash and detained four others.”
The SP noted that while the detainees were allegedly the youths who sparked the initial drunken altercation, they did not appear in the footage of the subsequent communal violence. Police officials are currently verifying their mobile tower locations to determine their level of involvement, with further arrests expected.
Police further stated that the situation in Chandipur is currently under control and stable.
“Two platoons (60 personnel) of armed police have been deployed in the area to avoid any further escalation,” he said.
“Leaders of both the communities are making efforts to bring back complete normalcy in the area,” he added.
Two FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence, the SP added.
