Dasarathpur/Gopalpur/Khurda: At least 17 people were injured, six of them critically, in Jajpur, Ganjam and Khurda districts Wednesday and Thursday.
Reports said a group of people had entered the house of defeated sarpanch candidate Pankajini Mohapatra under Mangalpur panchayat of Jajpur late Wednesday night and attacked her.
Pankajini’s husband Pradip along with some supporters was attacked by the people of the other group over the incident Thursday. Seven people were injured and two of them were critically injured.
A case was filed against Pankajini, her husband and her three brothers. Police started an investigation into the matter and detained two supporters of Pankajini.
Reports from Gopalpur said two groups clashed over past and political enmity at Pitatali in Ganjam late Wednesday night. Both sides hurled bombs and stones at each other.
Four people were critically injured and admitted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur. Four separate cases were filed at Golanthara police station in this regard.
In one more incident, miscreants set ablaze a car belonging to a sarpanch-elect’s brother at Kaipadar village in Khurda district late Wednesday night over suspected political rivalry.
The incident happened after a confrontation between two groups at Mangala Sahi locality in Kaipadar village.
However, prompt intervention by officials of the Sadar police station prevented an escalation of the violence.
“Miscreants found a Maruti Swift of Manas Routray, the sarpanchelect’s brother, parked at a nearby farmhouse and set it afire late Wednesday night.
A few villagers spotted the thick smoke and informed the Sadar police who reached the spot and doused the blaze,” said a police official quoting the complaint.
Manas blamed the incident on the sarpanch candidate of the rival party who lost the poll.
In another incident of post-poll violence at least six persons sustained critical injuries after supporters of two political parties clashed with each other at Bana Sahi under Mangalpur Gram Panchayat in Jajpur district.
The injured were rushed to a local hospital for treatment. Later, two of them were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after their condition deteriorated.
Two persons have been detained in this connection.
PNN