Bhubaneswar: Several people were injured and three to four shops were destroyed Wednesday as residents of two villages in Odisha’s Khurda district engaged in a violent clash over a boundary dispute, police said.
The incident comes a few days after prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS, imposed in the area after a previous incident of violence over the issue, were lifted.
“Several people were injured in stone-pelting between residents of Ostapur and Kotapalla villages in the Baghamari police station area this morning. Three to four shops were also gutted in the incident. Even a CCTV camera installed by the police to monitor the situation was damaged. Security forces were rushed to the area to control the situation,” Khurda Superintendent of Police Vivekananda Sharma told reporters.
Three platoons of police, totalling nearly 90 personnel, have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, he said.
The dispute erupted over the installation of a signboard marking the boundary between the two villages, police said.
Violence erupted between the residents of the two villages in August, leading to the imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in the area.
However, the prohibitory orders were recently lifted after an improvement in the situation.
“We will investigate the matter and take further action… Those who damaged the CCTV will also not be spared,” the SP said.
After the previous instance of violence, a meeting was organised by the sub-collector between the representatives of the two villages and peace was restored, an administrative official said, adding similar action has to be taken again.
PTI
