The Odisha Police on Thursday arrested at least 72 people, including 23 women, for allegedly assaulting two . Police said local residents suspected the poll officials, who “mistakenly” entered their village, of being child abductors.
According to police, Sumit Hazra and Som Hansda were bank employees deputed as micro-observers to supervise the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise at Baliagaria block under Nayagram police station limits in West Bengal. They mistakenly entered the nearby Rajnagar village, under Raibania police station limits in Odisha’s Balasore district, on Wednesday, authorities said.
“Unable to get any transportation facility to go to their designated places, the two officials requested an autorickshaw, which was on school duty, to take them to Nayagram. The auto driver declined their request. As they were waiting to get an alternate transportation facility, someone spread a rumour about the movement of child lifters in the area. Due to a communication gap, the villagers detained the two poll officials and assaulted them brutally,” said Niranjan Behera, Additional SP, Balasore.
Behera said the villagers also allegedly manhandled and detained two police personnel from Raibania police station when they rushed to the village to rescue the poll officials. The villagers allegedly didn’t listen to the local police inspector when she visited the village and urged them to let the poll officials and police personnel go.
Additional forces were deployed in the village while senior police and administrative officials rushed to the village to bring the situation under control. The injured poll officials, after being rescued, were admitted to the local hospital for treatment.
The Balasore Additional SP said two cases were registered in this regard, one by the poll officials and another by police, and that more than 100 people were questioned.
After verification of video footage, police have arrested 72 people, who will be produced before court. Additional security forces have been mobilised in the Raibania police station to avoid any untoward situation, officials said.
