Internet services were suspended in Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday following a clash between tribal villagers and Bengali-speaking people. Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita were imposed in two villages of the district where houses were torched.
The violence, which erupted on Sunday afternoon, stemmed from the killing of a 51-year-old tribal woman, whose headless body was recently recovered from a river.
According to officials, the deceased woman’s family was embroiled in a land dispute. She had given a piece of her land to a Bengali person for sharecropping. However, a dispute broke out when she wanted to terminate the contract.
“We have suspended Internet services for 24 hours as a preventive measure to stop the spread of mischief. The situation is under control,” District Collector Somesh Kumar Upadhyay said. He added that an investigation has been ordered to find out who triggered the violence and what was its root cause.
“Tension had been simmering between the two villages over growing economic and social disparities,” an official said.
While Bengali-speaking people, who migrated from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) soon after Independence, are seen to have become economically prosperous, Malkangiri’s indigenous inhabitants remain backward. The tribal community often alleges that the Bengali-speaking people have usurped their land through deception, the official added.
Houses torched
About 5,000 tribal people from Rakhelguda village charged into MV-26 village, with traditional weapons, including axes, and torched several houses on Sunday afternoon. Over 100 families were affected in the attack.
Senior officers immediately visited the affected village and convened a peace meeting. The police have made some headway in the investigation.
Published – December 09, 2025 01:19 am IST
