Prohibitory orders lifted in Odisha district

An order prohibiting the gathering of people was lifted Monday from most parts of Odisha's Kendrapada district where one person was killed and several injured in post-poll violence Friday, an official said.

"We have lifted the prohibitory orders from most of the places as the situation is back to normal. However the prohibitory orders will remain in Aul and Rajkanika police station area for some more time," District Collector Nitin Bhanu Das Jawale told IANS.

Jawale said the administration has, however, imposed a ban on large public gatherings and rallies in the district to maintian law and order, he said.

The authorities clamped orders under Section 144, which prohibits the gathering of more than four people, across the district Saturday after violence and protests were reported.

The clash broke out between the supporters of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress in Aul area of the district Friday night over alleged election irregularities, a day after voting for assembly and Lok Sabha was held in the area.

A middle-aged BJD supporter succumbed to his injuries while four activists of the same party were hurt. Police have arrested three Congress workers.

Accusing the ruling party of rigging and tampering the electronic voting machines (EVM), the opposition parties also staged demonstrations and protests in many places of the district both Friday and Saturday.

Also, a mob on the same day assaulted Block Development Officer S.K. Pati after they found 28 pairs of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) kept in a government vehicle parked near his residence in the district headquarters town of Kendrapada.

The mob also ransacked his house, about 100 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

A criminal case has been registered against a mob of over 600 people, Jawale said.

Police are examining the video footage of the violence to identify the assulters, he said. "No arrest has been made so far in this incident," he said.

Simultaneous elections for 21 Lok Sabha and 147 assembly seats in the state were held in two phases April 10 and April 17. The polling was held in the district of Kendrapada Thursday in the second and final phase.