A high-level BJP delegation, comprising Union Minister Bisheswar Tudu and several party MPs and MLAs, was detained on Tuesday after being prevented from entering violence-hit Sambalpur city. The team members were intercepted at Sripura Chhak on the Jharsuguda-Sambalpur road and denied permission to move further. Later, they were taken to a nearby Thelkoli police station and detained.
Sambalpur Additional Superintendent of Police Tapan Kumar Mohanty said: “The BJP delegation was denied permission to enter the city because they were not abiding by the provision under Section 144 of the CrPC. They cannot be allowed entry into the city at a time when curfew is in force.” The team comprised of Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Tribal Affairs Bisheswar Tudu, MPs Jual Oram (Sundergarh) and Suresh Pujari (Bargarh), MLAs Nauri Nayak, Shankar Oram, and Kusum Tete, and state BJP presidents Manmohan Samal and Sameer Mohanty.
Stating that he will raise the issue with the Central government, Tudu said, “It is unfortunate that the Sambalpur district administration stopped me and my colleagues from entering the city. They (administration) were given prior information regarding our visit.”
Meanwhile, the Sambalpur district administration on Tuesday further extended the suspension of internet services for another 24 hours while the curfew relaxation hours have been increased, an official said. The internet services would remain suspended until Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.
The district administration has also further increased curfew relaxation hours. Now, the curfew has been relaxed in the city from 7.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the convenience of the public, said District Collector Ananya Das. The city had witnessed large-scale violence in two phases, one on 12 April and then on 14 April, which left many people, including 10 police personnel, injured and caused arson and damage to properties.
The district administration suspended internet services in Sambalpur on 13 April, a day after violence was witnessed during a motorcycle rally in the run-up to the Hanuman Jayanti celebration on 14 April. Sambalpur SP B Gangadhar said that the number of arrests so far stands at 85.
