High-level BJP team detained while entering violence-hit Sambalpur town in Odisha

The Sambalpur district police in Odisha on April 18, 2023 detained a high-level BJP delegation comprising MoS Tribal Affairs Bisheswar Tudu, State BJP president Manmohan Samal and MPs Jual Oram and Suresh Pujari.

The Sambalpur district police in Odisha on Tuesday detained a high-level Bharatiya Janata Party delegation comprising Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Bisheswar Tudu, State BJP president Manmohan Samal and MPs Jual Oram and Suresh Pujari.

The BJP delegation was on its way to review the situation arising out of communal violence in Sambalpur town where suspension of Internet services was extended for another 24 hours.

The high-level BJP delegation was coming from the Jharsuguda district side and stopped at the entry point of Sambalpur. They were taken to Thelkuli Police Station. The detainment came at a time when a peace committee meeting was convened by the Sambalpur district police to restore normalcy in the western Odisha town.

“The Sambalpur district police had no clue as to why they were detaining us. The police were just carrying out orders coming from the Chief Minister’s Office. The law does not take its own course while it is guided by Biju Janata Dal’s instructions. We were going to Sambalpur to meet the family of a person who was killed in the communal violence. The detainment is a murder of democracy,” charged Kusum Tete, a BJP MLA.

Shankar Oram, another BJP MLA, said, “There was no violation of curfew as the BJP delegation was traveling when the curfew was relaxed. We were forcibly brought to the police station.”

“Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had all the time to visit Japan and other places whereas he did not have time to visit Sambalpur and instruct officials to restore normalcy at the earliest. When the BJP took it upon itself to help bring down tempers, we were detained,” said Nauri Nayak, a BJP MLA.

Meanwhile, a meeting of peace committee was convened in the presence of District Collector Ananya Das, Superintendent of Police B. Gangadhar and other senior district police officers. The peace committee members urged people to stay calm and work for communal unity. Representatives from Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian communities decided to hold peace assemblies in areas hit by violence.