3 Cops Injured in Group Clash Ahead of Ram Navami in Balasore

Balasore: A group clash occurred in Balasore town on Tuesday night ahead of the Ram Navami festival. As per reports, at least three police personnel were injured in the violence.

Two rival groups entered into a violent clash at around 10.30 pm at Golapokhari Square near Balasore town police station. This clash occurred over the tying of flags for Ram Navami and Jai Shree Ram slogans raised by some persons. People of a minority community opposed such activities and the situation took an ugly turn.

Balasore Town Police Station IIC Parsuram Sahoo rushed to the spot to pacify the situation. He and other policemen were attacked with stones. Three policemen including the IIC were injured.

One of the warring groups managed to rescue a person nabbed by police personnel.

After the situation turned violent, the police reportedly opened blank fire to disperse the agitators and detained 3-4 persons. IGP (eastern range) Himanshu Kumar Lal, Balasore SP Sagarika Nath and MLA Swarup Kumar Das reached the site to bring the situation under control.