On Monday, the situation in Joda town of Keonjhar district in Odisha became tense after an Akhada procession on the occasion of Ram Navami by Hindu devotees came under attack by some local Muslims. The district administration has imposed section 144 in the area following the violence.
According to the reports, the Hindu devotees had wanted to conduct an Akhada procession on Sunday on the occasion of Ram Navmi. The devotees had sought administrative permission to carry the religious flag to every Hindu temple in line with the Ram Navmi rituals followed every year. However, the Police denied the permission on Sunday and allowed only five members of the community to complete the procession on Monday.
[VIDEO] Section 144 clamped in Joda town following clash between 2 groups #Odishahttps://t.co/82QwSwfBqM pic.twitter.com/jd0XzEzqIk
— OTV (@otvnews) April 11, 2022
On April 11, as the devotees with religious flags reached the temple of Lord Shiva in ward number 4, the protesters from the Muslim community blocked the road and began arguing with the devotees. They didn’t allow the devotees to enter the temple area and began pelting stones and glass bottles at them, triggering violent clashes that resulted in several persons getting injured.
The police officials who reached the spot to pacify the situation were also thrashed with stones and glass bottles. The tensions heightened further as the protesters began destroying the nearby shops in the temple area. They also torched a couple of bikes and damaged a few more two-wheelers. The Police then open fire in the air to disperse the violent crowd.
Reportedly, the clashes between the two communities continued for more than 4 hours. Police officers including SP Mitrabhanu Mohapatra, Champua Deputy Collector Pratap Pritimay, Badbil SDPO Himanshu Bhushan Behera, Badbil Tehsildar Alok Patel, Joda BDO Jagannath Hanuman were present at the spot to control the situation. The Police officers later imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in the town till Tuesday 10 am.
