Rourkela: After a four-day stando-ff, police on Wednesday arrested a man in his late 30s, who had climbed up to the roof of a school and taken control of the building in Sundargarh district. The man, armed with bows, arrows, an axe and stones, had been on the roof since Sunday, forcing the school to remain closed for three days.
He also shot arrows at two police officers — injuring Mahulpada police station inspector in-charge Suresh Chandra Pradhan on Tuesday and another cop on Wednesday.
The headmaster also suffered injuries after the man threw stones at him. In response to the situation, a significant number of police personnel were deployed to nab him.
The incident occurred at Badajala upper primary school which has around 159 students in classes I to VIII. Late Sunday afternoon, Sahu Mundary, the headmaster, lodged an FIR at Mahulpada police station stating that a man, identified as Dhuni Munda, had jumped over the school wall and gone to the roof on the second floor, preventing anyone from entering the school. Munda even took the mid-day meal rice to the rooftop and cooked it there.
On Monday, he prevented students and teachers from entering the school by throwing stones at them. The students were advised to study at a nearby school. Police and the fire services attempted to bring him down on Monday and Tuesday but failed.
On Wednesday, about 25 police personnel, headed by Bonai sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Swaraj Debta, along with teams from the district volunatry force (DVF) and fire services, went to nab Munda. Munda sent an eight-page handwritten note through a rope, demanding Rs 100 crore and stating he had applied for a house in 2022, which had not yet been granted.
He also mentioned the lack of drinking water facilities and a boundary wall at his house, claiming the school was his home and he would not leave unless his demands were met.
When a drone camera was used on Wednesday to monitor his movements, Munda shot an arrow at it.
Two personnel carrying long iron trays in front of them, using their mobile phones connected to the drone camera to monitor Munda’s movements on the rooftop, followed by police personnel, went to the rooftop and caught him.
He was taken to Mahulpada police station for interrogation. Sources said Munda, a bachelor, lives in a small hut on a tree and collects firewood from the forest to supply to different schools in the area for cooking mid-day meals.