Gram sabha turns war field in Puri, 1 injured in group clash

A person was injured in a group clash following a heated exchange during a gram sabha at Sandera village under Satyabadi block in Puri on Friday.

The injured person has been identified as Bikram Jena, the former Vice Chairman of Satyabadi block. He has been admitted to a nearby medical for treatment. Later, Jena lodged a complaint at Satyabadi police station.

As per reports, a youth complained about alleged corruption in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme in the block during the gram sabha meeting. As per his allegation, some people have taken bribes to sanction houses to some ineligible beneficiaries under the scheme. However, the block officials were irked by the allegation and they asked the youth to provide evidence to substantiate his allegation.

However, the youth failed to provide any evidence and the incident led to an altercation between two groups. Subsequently, both the groups attacked each other in presence of police.

Somehow, the police managed to pacify people. The situation has been normalized and no action has been taken against anyone yet.