BHUBANESWAR: Three days after personnel of Special Operation Group (SOG), a striking force of Orissa police, allegedly attacked villagers of Chandaka following an altercation over a petty matter, villagers have expressed apprehensions about use of pressure tactics by the police administration to hush up the matter.

The attack by the SOG personnel saw over 30 villagers, including some women, folks injured at Chandaka, on outskirts of capital city on Friday evening. Following the incident, angry villagers had squatted in front of Chandaka Police Station demanding action against the accused.

People had returned to their homes after authorities declared that the matter would be investigated under supervision of a senior police official.

Suspecting that the inquiry by administration would `take longer time and lead to no disciplinary action against erring policemen', some villagers are now preparing to move the court.

"We are sure that justice would not be done in this case. The police fraternity will surely come to the rescue of SOG personnel.

If the investigation takes long time, we fear not many villagers would be able to stick to their statements," Chittaranjan Mohapatra, a villager, said.

Mr. Mahapatra said the court would be approached for investigation by an independent body and compensations for villagers. He said, "intolerance is growing among police personnel. They have been appointed for controlling law and order but not to take law into their own hands," he said.

Deputy Inspector General (Bhubaneswar Range) Y. B. Khurania, however, said, "we are trying to complete the investigation as soon as possible because we don't want the ill-feeling between villagers and police to continue in future."

Stating that no time-frame had been fixed to complete the investigation, he said the cases and counter cases filed by villagers and SOG personnel were quite contradictory and police was investigating into the matter cautiously.

Uneasy calm

Though SOG personnel were instructed not to use the route close to the village, an uneasy calm continues to prevail in the area.

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