SAMBALPUR: Sason police in Sambalpur district on Thursday arrested a 36-year-old man for allegedly poisoning drinking water sources in Canal Pada village under Talab panchayat on May 4. The accused is Sujit Luha, a liquor trader of Canal Pada.
IIC of Sason police station Prabir Tripathy said though the incident took place on Monday night, villagers lodged a complaint against Sujit on Wednesday. Based on the complaint, the accused was booked under several sections including attempt to murder, and arrested.
In their complaint, villagers alleged that Sujit and his brother Ajit had mixed pesticide in tube-wells and other drinking water sources in retaliation for opposition to the illegal country liquor trade in the village.
Sources said tension was simmering in Canal Pada for months as one group of villagers had been consistently protesting the illegal sale of liquor by Sujit and Ajit. The dispute reportedly led to repeated confrontations between two groups in the village.
On the night of May 4, villagers reportedly noticed suspicious movement near a tube-well and later detected chemical odour and froth in the water. They accused the Luha brothers of deliberately contaminating the tube-well with poison out of anger over continued resistance to their illegal liquor trade.
Villagers immediately stopped using the water. The next day, they approached the district administration demanding safe drinking water and strict action against the accused.
Following the incident, teams from the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation department visited the village and collected water samples for testing. IIC Tripathy said the test reports are yet to be received. Preliminary investigation suggests contamination through pesticide. Accused Sujit was produced in court. As a temporary relief measure, the administration has arranged water supply in the village through tankers.