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Bhubaneswar/Dhenkanal: A police personnel was arrested Sunday in connection with the killing of a BJP supporter in the run-up to the panchayat polls at Tarabha
village in Dhenkanal district, triggering tension in the area with the saffron party blaming ruling BJD for the incident.
Salman Rout was shot dead by co-villager Byomokesh Biswal over pasting of posters for the panchayat elections Saturday night.
Rout was shot dead when he tried to rescue a party worker Bikram Keshari Mallick from being assaulted by BJD workers when the latter was pasting posters in the village.
Byomokesh, a Orissa State Armed Police (OSAP) jawan, was arrested near Khuntuni and he is being interrogated in connection with the murder of Salman Rout, Dhenkanal Superintendent of Police (SP), Basant Kumar Panigrahi said.
Two others have also been detained by the police for questioning as part of the investigation into the incident that took place Saturday, he said adding more arrests are
likely to be made in the case.
“Investigation into the incident is in progress. We have sent the body to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for postmortem,” the SP said.
In view of prevailing tension in Tarabha, armed police force had been deployed in the village in order to prevent any untoward incident, Panigrahi said Rout, son of a former sarpanch, had been shot at following arguments with a group over poll related issues. He succumbed to injuries in Dhenkanal District Headquarters Hospital Saturday evening, police said, adding there was rivalry between families of Rout and Biswal for a long time.
The SP said a special team has been formed to nab the other accused persons.
Tension prevailed after the death of Rout as his supporters and relatives staged a demonstration and blocked the main road in Dhenkanal demanding immediate arrest of the accused persons.
The road blockade was lifted after district collector Rupa Roshan Sahu and SP promised action in the case.
The situation in Tarabha village remained tense and witnessed stray incidents of violence in protest against the killing of Rout. Additional police force was deployed in and around the village as a precautionary measure, while the district administration clamped prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPc in the village.
Irate mob torched and ransacked houses and shops. They even did not spare women. Four police men were hurt when they tried to intervene. A pall of gloom descended on the village after the body of Rout arrived.
Meanwhile, BJP gave a call for dawn-to-dusk bandh in Dhenkanal town Monday to protest the killing of Rout and demanded arrest of all accused persons. The panchayat polls in Orissa will be held in five phases February 13, 15, 17, 19 and 21. PNN
