BHUBANESWAR: Communally-charged Bhadrak remained tense but under control as additional forces were rushed to the district headquarters town on Saturday. The administration also extended curfew till Sunday morning to keep a close watch on the situation on Saturday night.
Earlier in the day, police conducted flag march in the town even as the State Government sought deployment of Rapid Action Force (RAF) to reinforce the security arrangements. Chief Secretary AP Padhi wrote to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi seeking four companies of the RAF.
While Friday night reported no major outbreak of arson, most of Saturday passed without any incident. There was no report of any clash between the two communities nor was there any attack on shops and houses in any part of the town and its outskirts. The administration said no injury to any individual has been reported as yet.
Home Secretary Asit Tripathy, DGP KB Singh and ADG (Law and Order) Binayananda Jha camped in the town as at least 43 platoon force from OSAP and District APR remained posted. The administration sent in 12 platoons to neighbouring Bonth, Basudevpur, Dhusuri and Dhamnagar to keep a watch on the situation and prevent any untoward incident.
Sources said the Ministry of Home Affairs has agreed to send in two companies of the Central forces which is likely to reach the town in the next 48 hours. Earlier, Union Minister for Petrol and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan had also spoken to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Secretary seeking Central forces deployment to restore normalcy in the district.
While the situation showed improvement, the administration was unwilling to take any chances given the sensitive nature of the situation. While about 100 protestors were rounded up, police have arrested more than 30 persons in connection with the attack on security personnel, arson and damage to vehicles.
Earlier in the day, revenue officials began assessment of the loss to property as more than 100 shops, including some houses, had been damaged in the riots. Shops, godowns and commercial establishments were evaluated by the local tehsildar to assess the total damage. The areas which were worst affected included Bonth Square, Kacheri Bazar, Charampa, Chandan Bazar and Puruna Bazar.
Objectionable posts on Lord Ram on the social media sparked off communal tension in the town on Thursday.