The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Odisha, which came to power on June 12, is facing its first challenge after violence broke out in Balasore on Bakri-Eid day. The town has been placed under curfew since Monday midnight, with authorities suspending mobile internet services.
The incident brings back the reminiscence of communal violence in Kandhamal district in 2008 that had led to then chief minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik breaking alliance with the saffron party, alleging the involvement of the RSS. The BJP had been out of power in the state since then.
While Kandhamal has a considerable Christian population, Balasore town has sizeable Muslim population.
In the recently held elections to Lok Sabha and state assembly, the BJP had won in both Balasore Lok Sabha seat and the assembly segment. Pratap Sarangi, the sitting MP of Balasore and a former union minister, got reelected to the lower house while in the assembly segment, the sitting BJD MLA of Balasore lost to BJP’s Manas Kumar Dutta.
Balasore is an important town of north Odisha and was a British base before Independence. The defence ministry’s missile tests take place from its Chandipur sea coast’s Interim Test Range. Chandipur is also a well-known tourist place. Balasore municipal area has a population of around 1.40 lakh, of them nearly 45,000 are Muslims.
On Monday, a clash between two communities occurred over the suspicion of cow slaughter. According to preliminary investigations and local people’s versions, some people at a distance of around 50 metre from Bhujakhia Pir Baba Pitha (both Hindus and Muslims worship there) of Sunhat area were allegedly slaughtering cows on the road, which some other people from a different community objected to.
The alleged red colour in roadside drain water also raised suspicion of cow slaughtering, leading to tensions.
Between 10 am and 11 am, clashes and stone pelting were reported in the area. Police forces reached the spot and closed all roads and declared Section 144 in the area.
However, after the evening, Suelpur and Manikhamb areas of Balasore witnessed fresh clashes, prompting the police to place the entire city under a 24-hour curfew from Monday midnight. The situation brought back memories of 1992 when the communal violence that broke out in Balasore spread to nearby areas and the entire region was put under curfew for a longer period.
More than 10 people, including two policemen, have been injured in the incidents of violence on Monday while a few houses and vehicles parked on the roadside got damaged. Among those injured, two are being treated in hospital while others went home after receiving first aid treatment.
The road to Chandipur passes through Sunhat and a few vehicles carrying tourists to the beach were also got damaged. That road has now been blocked which will disrupt the movement of tourists.
All entry points to the city have been sealed. Additional Director General of Police Sanjay Kumar, who has been camping in the town, said 34 persons from both the communities have been arrested and the number is likely to go up. He said 43 platoons of police have been deployed in the town and additional 15 platoons are being mobilized. Four IPS officers and senior police officers from the headquarters are also being deployed to keep a tab on the situation, Kumar said.
Superintendent of Police Sagarika Nath said an investigation is on and that they were examining the CCTV footage to identify the culprits.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi discussed the issue with District Collector Ashis Thakre and directed him to take steps to bring the situation under control. Stating that Odisha is a peace loving state, Majhi said the public order won’t be allowed to be disrupted under any circumstances.
Balasore MP Sarangi alleged that he had asked the district collector earlier to keep a watch during Bakri-Eid because elections had just been over. Sarangi said he had also suggested to avoid cow slaughter on that day. The MP demanded action against the culprits and those who provoked the violence.
Dutta, the local MLA, also demanded that police identify people behind the violence and tough action be taken against them.
The district collector said though there were no reports of fresh violence, curfew has been imposed as precautionary measures.
The situation in Balasore is likely to be under control, but it may have messages beyond Odisha as the BJP has just come to power in the state on its own.
