8 arrested as drunken brawl escalates to communal clash in Odisha's Gajapati

Bhubaneswar, Feb 4 (PTI) Eight people were arrested after a drunken brawl snowballed into a communal clash in Odisha's Gajapati district, leaving 10 injured, police said Wednesday.

The incident happened in Chandipur village in the Mohana police station area on Monday evening, they said.

In the violence, the house of a local BP leader was attacked, they added.

"We have arrested eight people seen on the CCTV footage of the communal clash and detained four others," Gajapati SP Jatindra Kumar Panda told PTI.

"Those detained are the youths who were involved in the drunken brawl. They could not be seen on the CCTV footage of the clash, but we are verifying their mobile tower locations. They may also be arrested soon," he said.

Panda said the situation is under control in the area at present.

"Two platoons (60 personnel) of armed police have been deployed in the area to avoid any further escalation," he said.

"Leaders of both the communities are making efforts to bring back complete normalcy in the area," he added.

The SP said two FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence. PTI AAM AAM SOM