Communal flare-up: Curfew in Odisha's Bhadrak

BHUBANESWAR: Curfew was imposed on Friday in the district headquarters town of Bhadrak, about 114km from here, following communal tension. At least four cops, including a DSP and an inspector, were injured while trying to defuse the situation. At least 60 shops were set on fire while many of them were looted. DGP K B Singh, home secretary Asit Tripathy, revenue divisional commissioner (central) A B Ota and additional DG (law & order) Binyanand Jha rushed to the spot.
Power supply and internet services have been disconnected by the district administration. The state government transferred the district collector Prabhat Kumar Bhoi and directed Cuttack municipal corporation commissioner Gyana Ranjan Das to take over.
At least 30 platoons of police force have been dispatched to Bhadrak in addition to the 10 platoons already stationed there. At the time of filing this report, the additional forces, sent from Balasore, could not reach Bhadrak as warring factions had blocked the NH and roads leading to the town. The DGP said five suspects had been detained. "We are keeping a close watch on the situation," Singh said.
Tension flared up in Bhadrak on Thursday after a group held a demonstration and started dharna outside the local town police station, demanding the arrest of miscreants responsible for posting offensive remarks against Hindu deities on Facebook. Though the district administration promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, the crisis persisted. In the morning the administration convened a peace meeting involving members of different communities. Barely had the meeting got over when provocative slogans by rally members led to a clash with another group. Union minister Krishan Pal Gurjar, who was scheduled to visit Bhadrak on Saturday to attend an official meeting, cancelled his trip.