A violent clash broke out in Odisha’s Malakanagiri district after a headless body of a woman was found. Internet services are temporarily suspended and police forces were deployed in the area to bring the situation under control. A scientific team, a sniffer-dog squad, and the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have arrived at the spot and are conducting extensive searches to trace the missing head and collect other possible evidence.
Situation is peaceful now, says collector
Malakanagiri Collector said," The situation is peaceful now. An agreement has been reached between the two communities. They have named their respective representatives for today's Peace Committee meeting. We are hopeful that normalcy will return. As per preliminary assessment, 163 houses have suffered damage. The victim's son has been given an ex-gratia amount of Rs 30,000. The CM has announced Rs 4 lakhs ex-gratia."
Pprohibitory orders clamped in two villages
Apart from this, prohibitory order has also been clamped in the two villages following a group clash over the alleged killing of a tribal woman whose headless body had been recovered from a river, police said.
The clash took place when tribals of Rakhelguda village attacked MV-26 village under Korkunda Sadar Police station area. At least a dozen houses were damaged, some vehicles destroyed, and nearly four houses set on fire by the mob, police said.
Malkangiri Additional Superintendent of Police Raj Kishore Das said that the situation was under control after the deployment of additional forces of Odisha Police and BSF. The personnel of Odisha Fire Service are also deployed at the village along with Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force.
DIG (south western), Kanwar Vishal Singh, Malkangiri Collector Somesh Kumar Upadhyay and SP Vinodh Patil H have visited the affected areas and held a peace committee meeting involving both the groups.
Here's why violence broke out in area
Tension continued in the area after the recovery of the headless body of a 51-year-old woman identified as Lake Padiami, a widow from Rakhelguda village. Her body was recovered from a local riverbank, sparking anger among the local tribal communities.
Reports said tribal organisations demanded that the police immediately arrest the accused and recover the missing head. On Sunday, hundreds of tribal men and women of Rakhelguda village, carrying weapons, assembled at MV-26 village and attacked houses.
The mob forcibly entered homes, destroyed property, looted shops, and set some houses on fire in MV-26 village. Police said that two persons have been detained while many people have fled from MV-26 village.
