Tension prevailed in Seenapali village in Devbhog block of Gariaband district on Monday as two civilians were killed and six others injured in police firing after an irate mob clashed with the police.
Taking a serious note of the civilians’ death, Chief Minister Raman Singh announced sacking of Devbhog town inspector C R Thakur and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
On Sunday, a resident of poverty-hit Seenapali village had arrived at the Devbhog police station with a complaint that some villagers had allegedly attacked his family while accusing them of practising witchcraft (locally called Tonhi), Inspector General of Police (Raipur) GP Singh told The Pioneer.
Giving the sequence of the incident, Singh stated that on Monday, the Station House Officer (SHO) reached the village to conduct an inquiry into the case when some anti-social elements provoked the villagers and attacked the house of the complainant while trying to break into his house.
When the SHO tried to calm down the villagers, they turned violent against the visiting police team and attempted to grab their guns. Under these circumstances, the SHO first fired a few shots in the air and then on the mob as self-defence, the IGP claimed, adding, Rs Rs two persons died in the incident while six others injured.”
After the incident, Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pathak and District Collector Niranjan Das rushed to the village with a heavy reinforcement.Hundreds of people had gathered in the village after the civilians’ killings and raised slogans against the authorities. The last rites of the two deceased were performed amid villagers’ protests and heavy police presence. Reports say that villagers have planned to carry out more protests on Tuesday against alleged unprovoked police firing.
Meanwhile, the injured have been shifted to Dr. BR Ambedkar Hospital in Raipur for advanced treatment as condition of a few of them was reported to be critical.The state government has also announced to provide financial aid of Rs 1 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased persons. Singh also announced relief of Rs 25,000 each for those injured in the incident.