After many villagers seized a representative of the local sarpanch who was reportedly handing out money inciting voters to support the BJD in the upcoming Dhamnagar bypoll, tensions erupted in Alinagar under the Karada panchayat.
Eight police officers, including Dhamnagar Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Inspector In Charge (IIC), who purportedly went to the hamlet to retrieve the Sarpanch representative, were detained by the enraged villagers, according to sources.Locals said that the sarpanch’s representative had gone to the hamlet to give money to Self Help Groups (SHGs) and that he had allegedly given envelopes containing Rs. 4,000 to each family in the area. They added that the sarpanch is a member of the ruling party.
But the representative was detained by the people after they grabbed him. A police squad commanded by the SDPO and IIC went to rescue him after being told, but they were held by the villagers. Up to the arrival of the final report, tension in the village persisted.
