As the tension continued till the wee hours of Tuesday in the Pattamundai municipality area following the locals staged road blockade in several chowks and gheraoed the Pattamundai police station, the district administration promulgated Section 144 CrPC in Pattamundai since Tuesday morning.
Kendrapada SP Nitinjeet Singh said five platoons of police force along with SDPO of Pattamundai, two DSPs, six Executive Magistrates and Inspectors were deployed at Pattamundai Municipality area to maintain law and order situation.
Armed police led by DSP Headquarters SN Das and Pattamundai SDPO Umashankar Moharana were deployed in Pattamundai basti where the local Hindus and Muslims had a row over the idol immersion.
Procession, meetings, and congregation have been restricted in the municipality area .Even, the district administration has restricted the minority community to sacrifice animal in the municipality area for the Eid-ul-zuha .
Tension erupted in the locality on Monday when the Dalits took out the Bhalukuni and Ganesh immersion procession with beating of traditional dholkis and drums through the Muslim basti. The women of the minority community had opposed the move.
The local administration has decided to organize a peace committee meeting very shortly to put an end on the communal tension. Meanwhile, the Pattamundai police have registered two cases for illegally blocking the roads on Monday. No arrest has been made so far.