Bhubaneswar: As many as 18 persons were arrested Saturday by the Commissionerate police for the violence that took place at Market Building in Unit-II area of Bhubaneswar Friday.
The Commissionerate Police conducted raids at several places in the city and nearby areas Friday night to nab those miscreants, while two were arrested Friday night. The police have also seized five motorcycles.
The investigation is underway to nab other miscreants who wreaked havoc Friday night in the area. CCTV footage is also being scanned to identify the miscreants.
Around 70 masked miscreants armed with sharp weapons ransacked as many as 30 shops besides attacking street vendors in the Market Building area for around 10 minutes Friday evening.
It has been suspected that the attack was the fall out of a quarrel that took place at a watch shop Thursday night when a woman visited the place to purchase a watch. She engaged in a verbal duel with Amodh Shah, the shopkeeper, who refused to sell the watch at a low price.
The altercation soon aggravated when the girl flung the watch at Shah. The lady later called up her four associates and attacked the shops. Subsequently, a fight ensued between the two parties. The dispute was settled after the intervention of police officials Thursday night.
The four associates, who were joined by other miscreants, attacked the site Friday damaging around 30 shops and injured two customers. Property worth lakhs was damaged in the attack.
PNN