Berhampur, July 15: Two persons were killed and 20 injured after the police opened fire on an irate mob which had tried to disrupt traffic on Khajapalli and Degaon in the Kodala area of Ganjam district today.

Seven cops were injured in the clash between local people and the police.

The two deceased were identified as Gouranga Swain, 22, and Narayan Palei, 25, both from Khajapalli village. While Gouranga died on the spot, Narayan succumbed to bullet injuries on his way to M.K.C.G. Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who had reviewed the deteriorating law and order situation in the area at a meeting, directed DGP M.M. Praharaj to visit the spot and take appropriate measures to restore normalcy. The government while describing the incident as “unfortunate” announced Rs 2 lakh each ex gratia for the family members of the deceased.

The government has also announced financial assistance for those whose houses were destroyed in the Wednesday clash. The administration has already suspended the local police station in-charge and the sub-divisional police officer of Chhatrapur following the group clash.

Today’s incident was the fall out of the clash between two groups belonging to two different villages. The villagers got involved in a brawl following an incident of eve-teasing on Wednesday. In the group clash, two persons were killed. The villagers of G Chachina had attacked the Marathisahi villagers and destroyed nearly 50 houses. Following the incident, the police had reached the spot and taken nearly 50 people into custody. Protesting against the arrests, the villagers, including women of G Chachina village, today put up roadblocks at several places between Khajiapalli and Degaon.

Following the attack, the Marathisahi villagers have fled from their houses and started residing at a kalyan mandap in Kodala under police security.

Praharaj, additional DGP Sanjeev Marik, DIG (southern range) R.K. Sharma and Ganjam SP Rajesh Pandit were on the spot and holding parleys with the local people to defuse the situation. Moreover, local MLA Sugyan Kumari got involved in the process. A total of 11 platoons have been deployed at Kodala to defuse tension. Another 5 platoons were expected to arrive at Kodala on Friday, said Pandit.

Pratima Rout, a zilla parishad member, said the police had entered some of the houses in G Chachina village by breaking open the iron grills in the wee hours today. “This is unfair and undemocratic,” she said.

Sisir Kumar Mishra, inspector in-charge of Ganjam police station, said the police had resorted to firing after the mob had attacked the police with sharp weapons, including swords. “The police fired on the mob at about 11am between Khajapalli and Degaon, about 5km from Kodala police station, on Friday. Gouranga’s body bore two bullet wounds. In all, seven policemen were injured in the brick batting,” he said.

“The police had no option. It had to resort to firing in self-defence. The crowd became aggressive. Had there not been firing, the casualty figure would have been more,” he said while refusing to divulge the number of rounds fired by the police to disperse the mob.

The villagers said the residents of 54 villages in the three blocks of Ganjam district, including Polsara, Beguniapada and Purushottampur, were united and ready to take on the police for its atrocities on the “innocent people”. Nearly 2,000 people were gathered near Digapada Square to attack the police, a villager told The Telegraph.

Eyewitnesses said the villagers had resorted to rasta roko (road blockade) at more than nine places, including Chachina, Khajapalli, Budhamba, Sama, Rengtipalli on Kodala-Aska road, Kodala-Khallikote road and Kodala-Arakhpur road. Kodala town was almost cut off from the rest of the district by road. The protesters obstructed the roads by cutting large tree logs, boulders, bullock carts, bamboo, bamboo nails on the road and burnt tyres for the second day today.

In another development, the Kodala police have registered cases against 15 villagers of G Chachina under various sections of the IPC, including the Explosives Act.

At a village meeting in Chachina on July 11, the villagers summoned other people outside the district to join their agitation failing which they would have to face a penalty of Rs 51,000 each.