The Hindu : Other States / Orissa News : Violence breaks out in Jeypore

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Sunday, Aug 31, 2008
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Violence breaks out in Jeypore

Sib Kumar Das

Police had to resort to blank-firing and impose curfew to control the situation

Graffiti put up on the campus of a college triggers trouble
SP, Sub-Collector and two girls injured; youth allegedly hit by stray bullet

—Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

Uprooted: A three-year-old boy, Elachand Pradhan, along with other violence victims at a makeshift shelter in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

BERHAMPUR: Violence broke out in Jeypore town of Koraput district on Saturday due to a graphiti on a college notice board. Curfew had to be imposed here to control the violence.

Koraput Superintendent of Police (SP) Dipak Kumar, Sub-Collector Sarat Nayak and at least five other policemen were injured in mob violence. Police had to resort to blank-firing to disperse the mob when lathicharge and shooting of teargas shells failed to control the mob.

A student, Lalit Rath was allegedly injured by a stray bullet during blank-firing. He was shifted to Vizag for treatment. The mob resorted to stone-pelting, torched a truck, attacked a church and damaged several vehicles in the town. Following this incident reports of attacks on Christian prayer houses began to come from other areas of Koraput district like Baipariguda. At around 7 pm the mob attacked and ransacked the Jeypore public school.

It was sparked from a small graffiti found in a college in Jeypore on Saturday morning. It hints how volatile the areas of the State have become following the communal clashes in Kandhamal district. The graphiti was aimed at a minority community. A group of youths of the community objected to this which started off a clash between student groups on the college campus. Two girls were also injured in this students’ clash.

Arrest demanded

Demanding arrest of the culprits behind the clash a group of students blocked the NH 42 near the college. But the situation aggravated as people from two communities came out. The mob became violent, attacked the Jeypore town police station and ransacked it. They resorted to stone-pelting at the police and a church near the college. The SP and the Sub-Collector rushed to the spot to take control of the situation with police force. But the policemen with them were outnumbered and both these officials had to face the wrath of the mob.

The police had to use teargas shells, lathicharge and blank firing to control the situation.

It was assessed that around 30 persons including students might have been injured in mob violence and police action.

Koraput district Collector Balakrushna Sahu and Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Police, south-western range, had not been able to reach Jeypore till evening as miscreants had blocked the road leading to Jeypore at Koraput town.

According to sources additional police forces were being sent to Jeypore from Nowrangpur district.

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