Peace Committee Meeting In Bhadrak Fails, Tension Prevails

**Bhadrak**: The Peace Committee meeting has failed to bring normalcy back to the town as hundreds of people have resorted to vandalising property and picketing at places after one of the communities organised a protest rally.

Even after a decision was taken to maintain law an order situation by the members of both the communities in the meeting, a rally was conducted by one community which has enraged the other community.

Even as section 144 was clamped in Bhadrak town the situation became tensed as people resorted to violence burning tyres and breaking down the shops. The police was unable to control the situation, according to the sources. Hundreds of people have taken to roads and are indulged in vandalising the public property.

In the peace committee meeting, the members of both the communities demanded compensation for the shopkeepers whose shops were set ablaze during the communal violence. They further demanded that the miscreants involved in the Facebook fiasco should be booked under cyber crime and duly punished after proper investigation.

The situation seemed to be returning to normalcy in Bhadrak town after there were communal tensions over some Facebook posts deliberately insulting a certain community on Wednesday. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the town in the morning.

However, schools and colleges remained closed. But institutions conducting examinations remained open and students appeared their examinations under police protection, informed the administration. Some shops and business establishments were open today. Buses were also seen plying to their destinations.

The administration had called for a Peace Committee meeting at 2:30 pm which was attended by top administrative and police officials along with some people representing both the communities.

“Last evening, someone tried to disturb the communal harmony in Bhadrak town. We have identified the person, and one person has been detained. Already 10 platoons of armed police have been deployed. IG is camping there. We are taking all the precautions for any untoward incident,” informed K.B Singh, DGP.

Notably, section 144 was imposed in the town on Thursday evening for a day anticipating further flare-up which is still in force.