Bhadrak violence: Flag march by RAF-CRPF, curfew relaxed for 4 hours

BHADRAK: The Rapid Action Force (RAF) and CRPF took out a flag march even as curfew was relaxed for four hours on Sunday in Bhadrak town where violence had broken out over alleged abusive remarks against Hindu deities on social media. The RAF and CRPF personnel staged the march through sensitive areas after they arrived at the arson-hit town, a senior official said. Three companies of RAF and two companies of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) have arrived to assist the police in maintaining law and order in the town, Superintendent of Police of Bhadrak, Dilip Das said. The curfew that was imposed on Friday was relaxed initially from 8 am to 11 am today and later extended till 12 noon to allow people to procure essential commodities, even as security forces kept a close vigil, he said. "People queued up at shops to purchase essential items following improvement in the overall situation in the town," police said, adding that the curfew would continue for some more time after the brief relaxation. Home Secretary Asit Tripathy, who is camping in the town along with senior officials including Director General of Police, K B Singh, said peace is returning in the area. Steps have also been taken to arrange essential commodities like milk, eggs and vegetables for people, while a control room has been opened to provide necessary assistance, he said adding that the focus is on preventing any flare up. Meanwhile, the crime branch has launched an investigation into rumours circulated through social media following directions by Chief Secretary A P Padhi. The cyber police cell would seek information from people to track miscreants spreading hate messages on social media and strict action would be taken against them, Special Director General of Police (Crime) B K Sharma said. Additional forces, including armed police, were deployed as part of efforts to restore peace in the town which witnessed violence on Thursday and Friday, the SP said, adding 36 platoons of force have been deployed in the area. As many as 43 people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence which left several shops gutted and vehicles damaged, police said. Meanwhile, the Inspector-In-Charge (IIC) of Bhadrak Town police station, Jadunath Jena, was replaced by Manoj Rout. Prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC remained in force in nearby Dhamnagar and Basudevpur as a precautionary measure to prevent spread of violence, a police official said. He said the decision to relax the curfew for four hours was taken after reviewing the situation that showed signs of improvement with no untoward incident being reported from any part of the town since yesterday. Violence had erupted in Bhadrak town on Thursday after a group staged a demonstration near the town police station demanding immediate arrest of those involved in posting offensive remarks against Hindu deities on social media. Though the district administration clamped prohibitory orders, tension persisted and fresh violence erupted on Friday despite a peace meeting called by the administration to restore normalcy. The escalation in tension prompted the administration to impose curfew on Friday, while security men had held a flag march in the town yesterday to dispel fears.