Bhubaneswar/Berhampur, Oct. 10: The Odisha government today asked the Kandhamal district collector to submit a detailed report on a clash that took place during the recruitment of sikshya sahayaks in Phulbani yesterday.

A mob incited by Kui Samaj Coordination Committee allegedly assaulted several candidates from other districts. They were also prevented from participating in the selection process.

School and mass education minister Rabi Narayan Nanda said: “Action will be taken against those involved in the clash.”

It was alleged that the mob was led by secretary of Kui Samaj Coordination Committee Lambodar Kanhar. They beat up the candidates from areas outside the district and also tore some of their certificates.

Over 2,250 candidates from various areas, including Kandhamal, Boudh, Kendrapara, Nayagarh, Jagatsinghpur and Khurda districts, were called for certificate verification by the district sarva sikshya abhiyan office.

The administration planned to appoint 753 sikshya sahayaks.

When the candidates approached the verification centre, the goons allegedly stopped them and targeted candidates from other districts. As the news of the assault spread, several candidates fled the spot.

Kandhamal collector Bhupinder Singh Punia today said: “The district administration will ensure the safety of these candidates. However, the candidates should also stop panicking. We will take action against those who have taken law and order in their hands. The certificate verification for the 753 sikshya sahayak posts was not limited only to Kandhamal district as it was a state-level programme.

Candidates from other districts, who fled without verifying their certificates, need not worry as their candidatures are still valid.”

On the other hand, Lambodar Kanhar said the Kui Samaj Coordination Committee was not involved in the incident. “The local people opposed the candidates from other districts. We never beat up anybody. The irate local residents only chased the candidates of other districts,” Kanhar said.

In another development, two candidates, who sustained injuries in the attack yesterday, lodged complaints with the police today. “I have lodged a complaint in Phulbani police station against Kanhar and his supporters,” said Vilas Behera of Arakhapalli in Nayagarh, who had gone to Phulbani for certificate verification.

Sabita Nayak, a resident of College Square in Phulbani who also lodged a complaint with police, said: “Kanhar and his supporters asked me to show my certificates when I was standing near the gate. They snatched my certificates and tore them.”

Sources in the district project coordinator’s office of the Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan in Kandhamal said that the candidates from other districts, who fled without verifying their certificates in Phulbani yesterday, would be able to complete their work at the office of the Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority in Bhubaneswar.