JAGATSINGHPUR: From tragedy to triumph, 2017 was a mixed bag of emotions. While the year saw the rise of crime rate in the district, villagers of Panchapalli under Erasama block were jubilant after a son of the soil was elected as a member of Kenyan Parliament.The crime graph looked skyward as cases of murder, loot, rape, molestation and acid attack were reported from across the district. In March, Tirtol police found decomposed body of a young woman in an iron trunk in Dhartangada forest. But, police are yet to identify the girl and arrest the accused till date. Similarly, several murder cases including killing of liquor shop salesman Ullas Jena of Pankpal village, mason Sarat Chandra Ray of Andhoti and Pradymun Senapati of Saralapur are yet to be solved raising questions over police administration's capability.
Incidents of dacoity also increased manifold in rural areas. While police failed to nab the accused, villagers spent sleepless nights to patrol their areas and some times, took the law into own hands. In November, a thief was tied up and thrashed by a group of people at Dabur village in Naugaon while he was allegedly trying to steal valuables from a house. Earlier, three dreaded dacoits looted the house of a villager in Sandhkuda in Paradip. The slum dwellers nabbed them and handed them over to police.
While four rape and murder cases were reported in the district, more than five dowry deaths took place in rural areas. In an acid attack incident which took place in 2009, Tirtol police arrested the main accused identified as Santosh Kumar Bedant who works in Indian Army and Biswajit Dalsinghray from Ranapur in Nayagada district after eight years.Tension gripped Kalikuda village under Erasama police limits after attack on Bangladeshi infiltrators including a woman for airing her grievances to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Bhubaneswar on April 16. Six persons were seriously injured and two cases registered at Erasama police station. But no arrest has been made so far.