Curfew was relaxed for four hours in Bhadrak town in Odisha, with no incidents of violence or arson reported since Friday evening.
The curfew was relaxed from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sunday but later extended till 12 noon to allow people to procure essential commodities, even as security forces kept a close vigil, a senior official said.
The administration, however, took no chances and extended curfew till 7 a.m. on Monday. Educational institutions and government offices will remain closed on Monday. As a precautionary measure, popular social networking sites — Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp — have been blocked at Bhadrak and surrounding areas for 48 hours from Sunday evening.
40 arrests
As many as 40 people have been arrested so far for the incidents of violence and arson on Friday, which left several shops gutted and vehicles damaged, Bhadrak PS in-charge Jadunath Jena said.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 remained in force in nearby Dhamnagar and Basudevpur, a police official said. Deployment of security personnel was strengthened at vulnerable pockets and frequency in patrolling was increased.
“There has been no fresh violence in the town. We are taking several confidence-building measures,” said A. B.Ota, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Central).
“The administration is not in a hurry to convene peace committee meeting. We are waiting for return of complete peace,” he said.
Soon after the relaxation in curfew was announced through public address systems, people hurried to purchase milk, bread and vegetables which were available at a few shops. Traders in Kacheri Bazar came to check on their shops. Tension was palpable in Chandan Bazar, where both communities have sizeable populations.
