Woman’s headless body in river: groups clash in Odisha; houses torched
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Malkangiri/Bhubaneswar: The administration on Monday suspended internet services in Odisha's Malkangiri district and clamped prohibitory orders in two villages following a clash between two groups over the killing of a tribal woman whose headless body was recovered from a river, PTI reported, citing police information.
Both sides wrote to the district administration demanding the arrest of the killer, while the police said security has been tightened in the area and the situation is now under control.
The opposition raised the issue in the assembly, accusing the BJP government of failing to prevent the clash on Sunday, though tension prevailed in the area following the recovery of the torso of 51-year-old Lake Padiami, a widow, from a riverbank near Rakhelguda village on December 4.
The clash took place on Sunday afternoon when tribals of Rakhalguda village allegedly attacked MV-26 village, a Bengali settler's area, under the Korkunda Sadar police station area. At least a dozen houses were damaged, some vehicles destroyed, and at least four houses set on fire by the mob, police said.
A prohibitory order has been clamped in two villages, while internet services have been suspended in the entire Malkangiri from 6 PM on Monday for 24 hours, officials said.
Thousands of people led by Gouranga Karmakar, the president of Malkangiri Bengali Samaj, demonstrated outside the district collector's office demanding action against those who attacked MV-26 village.
“We demand a high-level enquiry into the murder case at Rakhalguda, and arrest and punishment of the culprit as soon as possible,” the Bengali Samaj said and sought action against those who attacked MV-26 village.
Most of the residents of MV-26 village have fled during the attack, the organisation said in a petition to the administration.
In a separate petition, the District Adivasi Samaj Mahasangh alleged that a large number of infiltrators had entered the district between 1978 and 1980. They encroached upon government land and exploited local tribals.
It demanded that the police immediately arrest the murder accused and recover the missing head of the woman.