Following an almost similar incident in Keonjhar district last week, tension mounted high in Bhograi after a clash between a police party and enraged villagers. All six policemen, including two ASIs, sustained injuries and their jeep was damaged.
The incident took place at Panisandha village under Mandarsahi panchayat. The policemen faced the wrath when they went to the village to rescue a minority community family of six members, including four women, who were gheraoed by the villagers since Tuesday night.
Three platoons of police were deployed to maintain law and order. Additional SP Santosh Nayak was camping in Bhograi to monitor the situation.
The police were trying to rescue the family members from the clutches of a mob over 2,000 people. Through the local sarpanchs and ward members, the villagers were forcing the family to leave the village.
The villagers alleged that an accused wanted in a dowry murder case was hiding in the house and the family members were shielding him. The villagers alleged that the family was involved in a triple murder case which occurred two months ago on May 17 owing to dowry.
In the case a mother and her two minor children were found dead in a room in the house. They were Zahira Biwi (28) and her two sons Sajid Ali (10) and Sahid Ali (8).
The police then had begun an investigation suspecting it as a case of suffocation death. The postmortem report had stated that the death was due to carbon monoxide. However, the case turned out to be murder when Mohammad Zalill, about two weeks after the incident lodged a complaint that his daughter was killed along with her children due to dowry reasons. He had leveled the allegations against the family, including husband and his elder brother. later police had registered case under various Sections of IPC and DP Act.
The prime accused Gaffur Khan and his brother had absconded. The villagers suspected that Gaffur had come to his house on Tuesday night and therefore had gheraoed the house.