KEONJHAR/BHUBANESWAR: Keonjhar police on Tuesday arrested five persons for allegedly desecrating a sacred place of worship belonging to the Santal community in a village under Ghasipura police limits.
The arrests came 12 days after tribal residents of Basantpur village lodged a complaint with the police. The incident took place on October 23.
Hours after a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) delegation visited Dalkisahi in Basantpur village on Tuesday, Ghasipura police swung into action and arrested Chandan Sethy, Dibyajyoti Puhan, Akshay Kumar Sahoo, Suresh Mallick and Srichandan Puhan.
According to the complaint filed on October 29, members of the Santal community were worshipping at the sacred grove, also known as Jaher Than, when around 15 to 20 people armed with knives, iron rods and sticks entered the place of worship and allegedly abused them in filthy language. When women from the village tried to resist, they were subjected to inappropriate behaviour and manhandled.
The FIR further stated that, while leaving the spot, the attackers dragged two village youths with their bikes for 30 to 40 metre, leaving them injured. The villagers were also warned that their rice quota and allowances would be stopped if they reported the incident.
One of the villagers, Rabi Hembrum, told this newspaper that the police had declined to register a separate FIR over the desecration of Jaher Than and instead clubbed it with the case relating to the assault on villagers.
The incident took a political turn after a BJD delegation, led by former minister and president of the party’s Tribal Cell, Sudam Marndi, visited the village. The regional party alleged that the attack was carried out by persons associated with the Bajrang Dal, and demanded an independent probe into the incident.
“When the chief minister himself belongs to the Santal community, the attack on tribals clearly demonstrates how unsafe the communities have become in the state,” the party said.
Contacted, Anandpur sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Kamal Lochan Panda said the police had started an investigation into the matter.
