As many as 14 persons of Kanika village under Hemgiri police limits of Sundargarh district were arrested and forwarded to court by police on Friday allegedly for rioting, wrongful confinement of police personnel and damaging two vehicles of police while staging protest against police action in accidental death of a youth. According to sources, on Wednesday afternoon, a youth identified as Lipun Naik (19), a resident of Kanika under Hemgiri police station, was returning from Hemgiri to Kanika in his bike when he was hit by a speeding Scorpio jeep (No. OD 16C 9006). He was critically injured. After the accident, driver of the Scorpio ran away from the spot leaving the vehicle on the spot. Critically injured Lipun was rushed to the Kanika community health centre but doctors referred him to VIMSAR Burla, where he succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday night. After hearing about death of Lipun, tension prevailed at Kanika area. Police seized the Scorpio and brought the vehicle to the police beat house at Kanika and later, shifted the seized Scorpio to the Hemigiri police station. On Thursday afternoon, hundreds of people of Kanika stood in front of Kanika police beat house and staged a road blockade protesting death of Lipun in road accident. The protesters questioned police about shifting of the Scorpio from the beat house to the Hemgiri police station.
After hearing about the protest of locals, Hemgiri Tehsildar Surya Nayak and Sub Inspector of Hemgiri police station reached the spot and discussed with irate locals but could not pacify them. Suddenly some irate locals pelted stones at the police beat house, attacked two four wheelers of police standing in front of the beat house and locked the beat house in which two police constables were present. The irate locals damaged two four wheelersof police. The constables present there sustained minor injuries. After getting information, Sundargarh SP Soumya Mishra and ASP Rabi Narayan Barik reached the spot with police force.