Bhubaneswar, April 17 (). The Odisha government has extended the suspension of internet services in violence-hit Sambalpur district for another 24 hours till 10 am on April 18. Officials gave this information on Monday.
After communal tension flared up during the Hanuman Jayanti procession on the evening of 12 April, the state government suspended internet services in the entire Sambalpur district from 10 am on 13 April.
Curfew was imposed in six police station areas of Sambalpur from April 14 midnight as incidents of violence again broke out in the western Odisha city.
Police have arrested six more people in connection with the incidents of violence. Three people have been arrested for their involvement in the April 12 stone-pelting incident, while another three have been arrested in connection with the April 14 violence, police said on Monday.
So far 85 people have been arrested in connection with various incidents of violence in Sambalpur.
Meanwhile, the district administration has further relaxed the curfew timings. Parvesh Chandra Dandasena, sub-collector of Sambalpur Sadar, said in the latest order that curfew will be relaxed from 7.30 am to 11.30 am and 3.30 pm to 6 pm.
The state government has deputed Additional Chief Secretary Satyavrat Sahu to camp in Sambalpur and monitor the situation. DGP Sunil Bansal is also camping in the violence-hit town since Saturday.
Talking to reporters on Sunday, Bansal had said that the situation in the town is continuously improving. He said that if the situation continues to improve, the curfew will be lifted in the next day or two.
It is noteworthy that before Hanuman Jayanti (April 14), a motorcycle procession was taken out on the evening of April 12 by members of the Hanuman Jayanti Coordination Committee, Bajrang Dal workers, etc. During the rally, clashes broke out between two communities in Sambalpur town, in which several people were injured and police were injured.
Violence again broke out in the town on 14 April, when a Hanuman Jayanti procession was taking place in the western Odisha town. Some shops were set on fire and ransacked on the night of 14 April.
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