Police have made as many as 85 arrests so far in connection with violence in the town which began on April 12, when a motorcycle rally was organised by the local Hanuman Jayanti Samanvaya Samiti.
The Odisha government has shut down the Internet services and blocked social media platforms in Sambalpur district for 48 hours from 10 a.m. on Thursday in view of communal tension that erupted during a Hanuman Jayanti rally.The violence took .
There were also reports of vandalism and arson as a shop and a motorcycle were set on fire during the clash. The police resorted to mild lathicharge to disperse the mob. Police said the miscreants also damaged some of the vehicles parked on the roads in the tension-gripped area.