19 Arrested, Cases Against 50 in Phiringia Police Station Arson Incident

Phulbani: Police have arrested 19 persons and registered cases against 50 others in connection with the arson at Phiringia police station in Kandhamal district.

As per reports, cases have been registered against several local leaders including the Phiringia block vice-chairperson, local sarpanch and samiti members.

Acting on the reason behind this mayhem, the police administration has also initiated action against the police personnel of Phirigia police station. The inspector-in-charge (IIC) Tapan Kumar Nahaka has been transferred and posted at the district police headquarters, two accused home guards were disengaged from service.

The locals alleged that these three police personnel were involved in sell of marijuana seized by the police.

Ramesh Kumar Pradhan was posted as the new IIC of the police station.

On Saturday, an angry mob protesting against the alleged involvement of policemen in the smuggling of ganja ransacked and torched the Phiringia police station. A DSP rank officer has been probing into the incident.