At least 11 people were arrested on Monday in connection with a group clash at Ambagaon village under the Jarada police station in Ganjam district in which three persons were injured and 40 houses were set ablaze due to hurling of bombs on Sunday. One of the seriously injured persons was referred to Visakhapatnam, while others were undergoing treatment at Jarada hospital, sources said.
Almost all male persons of the village have fled fearing arrest after the incident. “The situation was now under control,” said DIG (Southern Range) Amitabh Thakur. District administration has provided polythene sheets and foods to the members of the families, who had been rendered homeless in the arson. “We have distributed 41 polythene sheets to the victim families. They were also provided dry foods,” said Patrapur tehsildar Hara Prasad Bhoi. Though the enmity between the two groups in the village was old, the sudden provocation for the fresh incident was suspected to be due to a clash between two women in the village, police said.