Kendrapara: With tension gripping Kendrapara after a clash between two communities over a petty matter Monday evening, the government has banned Internet services for 48 hours from 11.30 am June 5 in Kendrapara town and its nearby areas.
Hundreds of youths of a community staged a dharna Tuesday evening in front of the Kendrapara Town Police Station demanding the arrest of people of another community involved in injuring a middle aged man and his two sons Monday in Badahat village.
Considering the tension and to prevent violence in the district as some people were circulating false messages through social media, the government decided to clamp down on Internet services.
Official sources said the Home Department issued a notification explaining the reason for stopping Internet services in Kendrapara town.
The notification said the government came to know that miscreants were circulating false messages to disturb public order in Kendrapara town and adjoining areas through WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter etc.
Dr Santosh Bala, IPS, the Special Secretary, Home Department, issued the notification Wednesday under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1985, and Rule 2(1) of the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency/Public Safety) Rules, 2017, said SP Niti Sekhar.
Dr Santosh Bala directed all mobile phone service providers/Internet service providers to immediately enforce the order and intimate the Home Department.
The Home Department has also communicated the order to the Chief Secretary, DG and IG of Police, Additional DGP CID/CB, Special DGP Intelligence, IGP (CR), Senior DDG, LSA Department of Telecom Odisha, Principal Secretary E&IT Department, Special Secretary of E&IT Department, RDC (Central Division), Cuttack, Collector–cum-District Magistrate and the SP of Kendrapara for enforcing the order.
Tension erupted between the two groups over a petty matter resulting in a group clash. Three persons of a particular group, a father and his two sons, were injured seriously in the clash. Later, the attackers snatched the gold chain and some money from the family of the three who came to help them.
The injured are Ramesh Das, Prahallad Das and Khageswar Das. Later, the three were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital for treatment. Prahallad Das later filed an FIR at the Kendrapara Town Police Station. The police registered cases after receiving complaints from both sides.
Demanding the arrest of those responsible for assaulting the middle aged man and his two sons Monday in Badahat village, hundreds of people staged a dharna Tuesday evening in front of the Kendrapara Town Police Station.
SP Niti Sekhar, ASP Aruna Kumar Jena and SDPO Rajib Lochan Panda rushed to the Kendrapara Town Police Station and managed to pacify the protesters by assuring them that they would nab the attackers within 24 hours. The dharna was stopped after this.
