Tension continued to run high at Tarabha village in Dhenkanal district on Sunday following the gunning down of BJP supporter Salman Rout during a clash between two groups at the village late on Saturday evening.
BJP supporters in retaliation went on a rampage on Sunday. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC were clamped at the village to prevent the unrest from flaring up further.
Reports said the prohibitory orders were imposed after a violent mob set the house of the prime accused afire in protest against the killing of Salman.
The house of arrested Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP) jawan Byomkesh Biswal and a tractor, motorcycles and heaps of harvested paddy crop stored in his house backyard were set ablaze.
The mob also set some shops on fire in protest against the murder of Salman of the village who worked as a cab driver.
Dhenkanal Superintendent of Police Basant Kumar Panigrahi said, “We have arrested prime accused Byomkesh Biswal and detained two others for their alleged complicity in the murder. They are being interrogated.”
Notably, two groups had clashed at the village over putting up of posters for the upcoming panchayat polls. It is alleged that Byomkesh pumped bullets into Salman’s chest from pointblank range after a heated altercation between the two.
A profusely bleeding Salman was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital on Saturday night. However, he succumbed to the injuries.
Meanwhile, the BJP blamed the BJD for the murder and said it would hold a Dhenkanal Bandh on Monday to protest against its supporter’s killing. Taxi drivers also held a demonstration at Ram Mandir Square in Bhubaneswar to protest the killing of their colleague.
Reacting to the youth’s killing, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the BJP would give a befitting reply to the BJD politically. In democracy, there is no place for violence. The BJP would give a political answer to the State ruling party’s political violence, Pradhan added.