Salipur ashram set ablaze after body found

CUTTACK: Tension ran high at Ananda Atma Ashram at Rameswar village in Salipur block of Cuttack district on Saturday after charred body of a youth was found on the premises. This came close on the heels of violence in Kendrapada and Jhinti near Bhubaneswar over Sarathi Baba and Sura Baba issues respectively.
The deceased was identified as Ashok Patra, a resident of Chapada village, located near the ashram.As the news spread like wildfire, hundreds of irate villagers barged into the ashram, ransacked it and set it on fire.
The locals alleged that head of the ashram Atma Baba murdered Patra and burnt his body to destroy evidence. Villagers claimed that several complaints were made to police against the Baba as he was carrying out illegal activities in the ashram. But police are yet to take any action, they said.
"Had the police reacted in time, today's incident could have been avoided," said Benudhar Das, a villager.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Atma Baba aka Alok Bisoi fled the spot, but by evening police managed to nab him.
"No FIR has been lodged so far. Looking at the tense situation, the Baba has been detained," said sub- divisional police officer (Salipur) S K Ray. He said the Baba during questioning told that he was busy cooking in the noon hours when Patra along with three others entered the ashram and tried to loot money and gold brandishing knives.
"The Baba told us that there was a tussle between him and Patra and inadvertently he hit Patra's neck with a knife and fled," said Ray. "However, we are not believing his version and will conduct an in-depth inquiry into the matter," said Ray. Police said the deceased had criminal antecedents.
Demanding immediate action against the godman, the mob also burnt a car and motorcycles parked on the ashram premises. No one was injured in the incident.
Peeved villagers were not even allowing police to take the body of the deceased from the ashram. "Situation is still tense. We are trying to pacify the locals," said Ray. Senior police and district officials are camping at the spot and keeping a close watch on the situation. Over six platoons of police have been deployed in and around the ashram.