BERHAMPUR/ASKA: In yet another incident of post-poll violence in Ganjam, a newly-elected ward member was chased down the street by a group of armed miscreants and brutally hacked to death in Kendupadar village under Aska block here on Sunday night. Three other persons also sustained grievous injuries in the attack.
The deceased was identified as 35-year-old Bulu Swain, who was elected as ward member in the just-concluded panchayat polls.
Sources said that Bulu and three of this friends were chatting near Kendupadar College at around 10 pm in the night when around 20 youths armed with sharp weapons and iron rods reached the spot and attacked them. While three of them fell down after sustaining critical injuries, Bulu ran for his life.
However, the assailants chased him down and hacked him mercilessly. Instead of coming to the rescue of Bulu, fear-stricken villagers shut their doors and remained inside their homes. On being informed, Gangapur police reached the village and rushed Bulu and his three friends to Aska sub-divisional hospital. However, doctors declared Bulu dead. The trio was shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital.
Sources said the attack was a fallout of a dispute over bursting of crackers during procession for block chairperson election. On Sunday, Addl SP (Ganjam) BK Mallick, Bhanjanagar SDPO SS Mishra along with a scientific team and sniffer dog reached the village for investigation.
Gangapur IIC D Gamang said the deceased's body was handed over to his family after autopsy. "Police have detained 21 persons who are being interrogated. We have deployed armed police in the village to prevent any further clash," the IIC added.
In a separate incident, supporters of a newly-elected sarpanch ransacked the panchayat office and set furniture on fire in Motabadi under Buguda block.
Sources said after the election to naib-sarpanch post, a quarrel broke out between supporters of the former and new sarpanch of Motabadi. Though village elders managed to bring the situation under control and prevented a clash, supporters of the newly-elected sarpanch ransacked the panchayat office and set ablaze the furniture inside it.
On Sunday, former sarpanch Nirmala Nayak lodged a complaint with local police in this connection. Ganjam has witnessed over a dozen of incidents of poll-related violence in February resulting in injuries to 15 persons.