Balasore, June 19 (UNI) Indefinite curfew clamped in the Balasore Municipality area from Monday midnight in the wake of a violent group clash between the two communities continued for the second day on Wednesday.
Balasore SP Sagarika Nath said so far 34 people from both communities were arrested in connection with the group clashes and forwarded to the court.
The police, she said, had also detained 30 people for violating the curfew order.
The district administration had already suspended internet service in the sensitive areas of the town and sealed all the entry points to contain further law and order problems.
The SP said about 43 platoons of Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP) forces have been deployed in the town and senior police officers are camping in the town to monitor the situation.
Sources said despite curfew in the town, two scrap godowns were set afire by the mob on Tuesday night.
Although the fire services were put into service, most of the items in the two godwans were gutted in the fire.
The trouble in the town started on Monday when some people noticed blood stained water in the drain and informed the police.
Soon, the incident took a violent turn, leading to a face-off between the two.
The district administration initially clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144CrPc in the troubled areas, but later was forced to impose curfew in the late night of Monday when the mob set fire to a shop, damaged houses, and a religious structure.
The SP has requested that the residents of the town stay indoors.
The situation, official sources said, is under control. The police forces conducted a flag march in the sensitive areas on Tuesday and beefed up the security arrangements in the trouble-torn area of the town.
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