Tribals in Odisha lay siege to police station, thrash cops

BERHAMPUR: Hundreds  of tribals stormed Adava police station in Gajapati district and thrashed the cops over arrest of a local youth on ganja smuggling charges on Tuesday. The irate villagers also ransacked the station and damaged a police vehicle. On Monday night, sources said, police had raided a house in Jharanapur village under Chadangapur panchayat in Mohana block and arrested Biswanath Sabar besides seizing 207 kg of ganja f rom his possession.

Opposing the arrest and demanding release of Biswanath, hundreds of villagers led by sarpanch Sebati Karji reached Adava police station in the morning and staged protest. They alleged that police arrested the youth illegally and took him to an undisclosed location where they tortured him. When sarpanch Sebati was holding discussion with the cops, the villagers all of a sudden went berserk and chased the police officials who beat a hasty retreat.

The agitators then barged inside the police station and assaulted around eight cops present inside besides ransacking the premises. At least eight cops were injured while files, furniture and a police vehicle were reportedly damaged. Gajapati SP Jayaram Satpathy and SDPO Ramkrushna Pati along with police force rushed to the spot. A case has been registered in connection with the attack and ransacking of the police station. Those involved will be arrested, he said.