BHUBANESWAR: The violence and arson in Sambalpur during the Hanuman Jayanti procession and a day before has exposed the poor intelligence network of Odisha police and its lack of foresight in ascertaining the consequences of inadequate security arrangement.
Even as normalcy is yet to be restored in the western Odisha city four days after the stone pelting on a bike rally that left 10 people, including two police inspectors injured, and subsequent violence during Hanuman Jayanti procession, Sambalpur police is in the dock for failing to prevent the incident despite prohibitory orders imposed under Section 144 of the CrPc.
The situation in Sambalpur is a result of callous police administration, which despite the advisory of the Ministry of Home Affairs, preferred not to make adequate security arrangements for the bike rally on April 12 that was to pass through a sensitive area. The violence started at Motijharan after stones were pelted by some miscreants when around 1,000 people associated with Hanuman Jayanti Samanwaya Samiti were passing through the route.
Sources informed TNIE only 13 police personnel were deployed along the two km Motijharan street and the ‘bandobast’ was grossly inadequate given what the situation warranted.On April 5, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an advisory to all states on Hanuman Jayanti in which the governments were asked to ensure law and order, peaceful observance of the festival, and monitoring of any factors that could disturb harmony. The violence, which could have been averted, flared up further as police failed to assess the situation and the preparedness of the miscreants. Local intelligence apparatus also failed to provide adequate inputs regarding their preparedness and subsequent attacks.
The FIR lodged by Bareipali IIC DK Swain which went into details of the first incident of breach of peace mentioned that people armed with iron rods and swords abused the members of the procession with obscene language and attacked them. It also said they did not allow the police to perform their duty which clearly indicated Sambalpur Police was caught unprepared.
Though there were intelligence inputs had suggested tension, sources said, there was no specific input to the police that the miscreants were prepared with stones, iron rods and swords. The miscreants dared to attack with stones only because there was hardly any policeman in sight, the sources added.However, Sambalpur SP B Gangadhar asserted, “Policemen were deployed as per the usual arrangements made during such rallies every year.”