Sambalpur: On Friday, a procession to celebrate Hanuman Jayanti was taken out in the city of Sambalpur in Odisha, two days after a violent attack on a bike rally. In order to maintain peace and security, heavy deployment of police was witnessed, along with security watch from drones and restrictions on social media. The rally was organized by devotees carrying saffron colour flags and it started from the Hanuman temple at Dhanakauda in the evening, with hundreds of people participating in the rally that went around the city.
In the aftermath of the stone pelting on Wednesday’s rally, which resulted in violence, 43 platoons of police, 26 DSP rank officers, 30 inspectors, and 70 sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors were deployed in the city. The DIG (North Central) Mr. Brijesh Ray and Sambalpur district SP Mr. Battula Gangadhar personally supervised the security arrangements in the city. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) were imposed in Sambalpur city, and internet services were shut down in the entire district for 48 hours from Thursday to prevent any untoward incident.
In order to instill confidence among the people, security forces conducted a flag march during the day, and foot patrolling was carried out last evening. At least 20 police teams were carrying out patrolling across the city where all shops and commercial establishments had remained closed due to the prohibitory orders. Drones flew along the route of the rally to keep a close eye on anti-social elements, and the feed from CCTV cameras was keenly monitored by the police sources.
