Curfew was imposed in Odisha’s Kendrapara town on Thursday in the wake of simmering communal tension. It will remain in force till 8 a.m. on Friday. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed and the police are keeping a close watch on the situation, the police said.
A face-off between members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and a minority community over use of a ground for celebration of the birth anniversaries of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai led to the tension on Wednesday. Stray incidents of violence were reported on Thursday and the police had to resort to a lathicharge to disperse the troublemakers.
‘Precautionary measure’
“The situation is under control. As a precautionary measure, curfew has been imposed,” said Kendrapara SP Niti Shekhar. IGP (Central) Soumendra Priyadarshi also visited Kendrapara to take stock of the situation.
During the day, Internet services were suspended and educational institutes remained closed.
The RSS had made preparations to celebrate the birth anniversaries at the Kendrapara Town High School ground on Wednesday. However, members of the minority community staged a protest alleging that they were not allowed to hold an event at the same venue a week ago.
“The RSS members had not taken any permission. When they marched towards the ground, some of our members picketed in front of the ground,” said Mir Obeda, a former councillor.