Prohibitory orders lifted in Bhadrak

Bhadrak: With the conclusion of week-long Ram Navami celebrations, Bhadrak district administration today withdrew the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC from several parts of the town.

The authorities had imposed prohibitory orders from 6 PM on March 17 to maintain communal harmony and law and order in the town in view of Ram Navami.

Similarly, the administration also restored the internet services which were suspended since Saturday evening as a precautionary measure to prevent misuse of social media in creating communal stress during the occasion.

Thousands of devotees from across the state thronged the town to participate in the week-long Ram Navami celebrations and witness Akhand Mahayajna and other rituals of Lord Rama which concluded on Sunday with peace and harmony.  A huge Kalas Sobhajatra was also organised on the occasion.

Fifty platoons of police force along with four commandants and 70 senior police personnel had been deployed to maintain law and order. Similarly a Crime Branch team was also present in the town to monitor social media.

Earlier last year, violent clashes erupted between two communities over a controversial online post on Lord Rama and Goddess Sita. People in large numbers had resorted to vandalism and burnt hundreds of shops and police vehicles.

The situation was so grim that the district administration had imposed curfew at regular intervals for 35 days.