bhadrak, odisha riot, communal tension
Communal tension erupt in Odisha's Bhadrak following a derogatory Facebook post on April 8, 2017. Section 144 has been imposed in the town.IANS

Central forces were rushed to Odisha's Bhadrak district on Saturday due to communal tension over derogatory Facebook posts on Lord Ram.

Trouble broke in the town on Thursday after derogatory remarks were posted about Ram and Sita on a Facebook page by Muslim youths. Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists later blocked traffic on town roads and encircled a police station.

On Friday, curfew was imposed in the coastal town as mobs set fire to shops and attacked police vehicles.

Initially, section 144 of the CrPC was imposed in the town, but later curfew was imposed to prevent gathering of locals.

The mob had stopped traffic from moving in Nua Bazar and demanded police to take action against the youths who posted the derogatory remarks. However, the situation went out of control when the group vandalised police vehicles.

Around 15 platoons of police were deployed in the town. The rioting has also led to transfer of the district collector.

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