Odisha: Mob attacks police station over man’s detention in cannabis case

A mob of around 200 people barged into a police station in tribal-dominated Gajapati district in Odisha on Tuesday morning and thrashed five cops protesting a man’s detention in a cannabis smuggling case, police said.

Officials in Gajapati district said people from 6 grampanchayats gathered outside Adava police station in Mohana block and staged a demonstration against the detention of one Biswanath Bhuyan, who was picked up by the cops from Jharanpur village on Monday night.

Gajapati district is considered a hotbed for cannabis cultivation and police routinely pick up people on such charges.

Enraged over the police action, local people first sat around the police station and then stormed inside and attacked the cops alleging that it was a fake case.

“They were unrelenting and went after us. They tore up case records, smashed laptop, desktop computer and furniture. We had to run for our lives,” said a police official, requesting anonymity.

The mob then headed for the residential quarters of the police station staff inside the premises and wanted to attack the family members of the cops. However, they were persuaded against it by other people.

Later, cops from nearby two police stations of R Udaygiri and Mohana arrived as reinforcement. However, the villagers continued to be on dharna in front of the police station to press their demands.

In June this year, armed mob with links to cannabis traders vandalised the Chitrakonda police station in Malkangiri district, another hotbed of cannabis cultivation.