Tension mounted when an irate mob ransacked the Rameswar Anandatma ashram in Salepur area of Cuttack district after locating the charred body of a youth inside its premises on Friday.
While the body has been removed from the ashram, police have detained the godman, Alok Bisoi (50), informed rural SP Gurudas Kundu. He said the body of the youth, Ashok Patra (35), of nearby Chaapada, was retrieved from the ashram with over 90 per cent burn injuries.
Soon after the news spread about Ashok's dealth, hundreds of nearby villagers rushed to the ashram in the afternoon and ransacked it. Sources said the irate mob torched the properties of the ashram.
Bisoi however, escaped from the spot and surrendered at the Salepur police station upon which he was taken into custody. The villagers have demanded immediate arrest of Bisoi holding him responsible for the youth's death.
The district SP along with five platoons of police was camping at the spot. Tension now prevails in the area even as the villagers have agreed to take the body for cremation after the intervention of district-level officials.