PURI:The IIC of Brahmagiri police station, Subhas Chandra Panda, and a constable were attacked by women of Gadarodhanga village on Tuesday.
Panda along with the constable had gone to the village to prevent women from plucking cashew nuts from a disputed orchard. As soon as the cops arrived at the spot, the women beat them up with lathis. In the melee, five women were also injured.
There has been a longstanding dispute between villagers of Gadarodhanga and Sabar Sahi over the cashew nut orchard. On Sunday, police had unsuccessfully tried to settle the dispute.
On Tuesday, when Panda received information that some women of Gadarodhanga were plucking cashew nuts from the orchard, he along with the constable rushed to the spot only to be hit by them.
Meanwhile, all male members of Gadarodhanga have fled from the village following the incident fearing arrest. Police personnel have been deployed in the village to avoid any untoward incident.