Berhampur, March 25: One person, who had suffered injuries in a clash between supporters of the BJD and the Congress at Ambagaon village in Jarada, 35km from here, died today.

The deceased, M. Duryodhan, in his 20s, was attacked by a group of 15 youths when he had gone to a nearby river to take bath on last Sunday.

A severely injured Duryodhan was shifted to MKCG hospital and later to a hospital in Visakhapatnam, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Around 46 houses were burnt down in the incident. For four hours, the two groups of the same village had hurled crude bombs and pelted each other with stones.

Police so far have arrested 22 persons from both the sides and registered four cases. One platoon of police has been deployed in the area to avoid any further disturbances.

Police sources said the trouble had erupted between the two groups over grazing of their cows and collection of money for Ganesh Puja.

The police have registered two each cases against the Congress and BJD supporters, said sub-divisional police officer Chikiti Bijaya Kumar Nayak. Out of 22 arrested within two days, 10 belong to one group, while 12 belong to another group, he said. The cops forwarded them to court after their bail pleas were rejected.

District Congress committee president Bhagaban Gantayat accused the police of being partisan and demanded the transfer of inspector in charge of Jarada police station Krushna Chandra Sahu. He demanded a probe into the incident.

BJD district president Subash Maharana said the Congress was almost non-existent in the area. "The incident at Ambagaon village may be a sequel to some personal misunderstanding. The BJD, as a party, is not involved in the incident," he said.

Deputy inspector-general (southern range) Amitav Thakur and Berhampur superintendent of police Sarthak Sarangi visited the village. It is reported that all the male members have fled from the village after the clash.

"The reason behind the clash is yet to be ascertained," said Chikiti. However, sources said there had been a tension at the village since the past eight months.

A senior police officer said peace at the village could only be restored if all the accused were arrested or they surrendered before the police. "Peace meeting at the village would be convened only after all the accused surrender or arrested," said Thakur.

"We are providing cooked food to the families who have lost their houses," said Patrapur block development officer Lalit Kumar Kanhar.