The Sambalpur district administration in Odisha imposed an indefinite curfew from Friday night and extended the internet ban, hours after a 30-year-old man was stabbed to death and four others were injured in communal clashes broke out in the town after Hanuman Jayanti processions.
According to reports, Chintamani Mirdha, a native of Sansinghari village, was returning home after a Hanuman Jayanti procession when he and his friends were attacked by allegedly 14-15 people.
Ten shops were torched and several were ransacked in at least three different places in the town, Hindustan Times reported.
On April 12, at least 10 persons including police inspectors and Bajrang Dal workers were injured in stone pelting when a bike rally organised to raise support for Friday’s Hanuman Jayanti celebration was passing through minority-dominated areas of the town.
On April 13, the Odisha government ordered the suspension of internet services in the Sambalpur district for 48 hours.
