MALKANGIRI: Tension gripped Swabhiman Anchal in Malkangiri district on Monday as angry villagers pelted stones at Papermetla police station demanding immediate arrest of persons involved in the murder of Raju Hantal, a native of Rangnigida village under Dhuliput panchayat.
Thousands of villagers from Dhuliput and nearby areas also attacked policemen and reportedly vandalised a police vehicle. Two constables sustained injuries in the attack.
Earlier in the day, family members of Raju refused to accept his body after postmortem. Accusing Border Security Force (BSF) jawans of abducting and later murdering Raju, the villagers staged dharna by placing his body in front of the police station.
The protest took a violent turn in the afternoon as the agitators went berserk and started attacking policemen. The mob fury continued for hours. As the situation went out of control, Koraput-based South Western Range DIG Shefeen Ahamed and Malkangiri SP Rishikesh D Khilari rushed to the spot. After several rounds of discussions, they managed to pacify the agitators following which the protest was called off. Later, family members agreed to take Raju’s body.
Raju was found dead inside the kitchen of an Anganwadi centre at Jantapai village under Papermetla panchayat on Saturday night. His family members alleged that he had gone to the weekly market at Jantapai with his two daughters on Friday when some BSF jawans picked him up. Raju did not return home that night.
Meanwhile, security experts apprehended that Maoists may try to capitalise on the situation by throwing their support behind Raju’s family and the villagers.