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Caste-bound tension continues in Kendrapara
KalingaTimes Correspondent
Kendrapara, Feb. 19: A day after the bloody clash, gun-totting
policemen hang around the remote Rankala village. The residents
regardless of caste affiliation are in a state of panic. The ransacked
houses in the village, that was witness to bloody caste-bound battle
yesterday, remind one of the scenes of devastation of 1999
super-cyclone days.
At least 23 persons mostly dalit women were injured yesterday
afternoon as armed upper caste groups had launched a murderous attack
on their houses.
As upper caste groups resorted to dig earth from a government grazing
land in close proximity to dalits' place of inhabitation, the dalits
offered resistance and stopped the digging work. The upper caste who
were lifting the earth for construction work in the local lord
Hanumanjew temple were deeply enraged and attacked the other groups.
An armed mob comprising over 300 people from the group barged into
dalits' settlement and had let loose vandalism spree. After beating up
the families, they targeted their houses and caused damage to 33
houses and household articles. The incident occurred when the male
members of the victimized families were away from their homes as most
of them were daily wagers.
Three persons involved in yesterday's violent attack have been taken
into custody. A platoon of armed police is camped in the troubled
village as a precautionary measure. Situation is fast returning to
normality in the affected village, said Kendrapara Superintendent of
Police, Narasingha Bhol.
However the ground realities speak altogether different story. Tension
has taken firm grip in the village with majority of upper caste male
members have fled the village fearing arrest and retaliatory attack
from the other group.
Deafening silence prevails the village that has about 600 population.
The upper caste community comprising two-third of the population
outnumbers the dalits.
Everybody in the village prefers to prefer to remain tightlipped and
their reply to outsiders is mostly in monosyllables. It may take
considerable time for the wound of caste divide to heal despite
administrative effort to broker out an amicable settlement to the
dispute.
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