At least 20 people were injured, three of them critically, when people of two villages clashed with each other under the Krushnaprasad police station in the Bramhagiri area on Saturday afternoon. While the three critically injured, Bhrmar Bhoi, Radha Kishore Palai and Uma Rath, all the residents of Alanda village, were shifted to the MKCG Medical College Hospital, Brahmapur, 17 others were admitted to the Government Hospital at Krushnaprasad and other nearby hospitals.
Around 1 pm, hundreds of villagers belonging to Alanda and Patana, of Krushnaprasad block being armed with sticks, sharp weapons, country-made revolvers and bombs, clashed with each other over the rights to prawn gheries on the shores of Chilika lake, sources said. “I was returning home after bathing. They (Patana villagers) suddenly opened fire at me injuring me in my leg,” said Radha Kishore Palai, one of the three critically injured persons.
The two villages have been at loggerheads with each other over the prawn gheri issue for quite some time, the sources added. A bomb blast had taken place a fortnight ago over the issue. Since the area is inaccessible, police forces faced difficulties to rush to the spot soon after the mishap.