Highly placed official sources said the CI had not informed the higher officials about the tension simmering in Ranalai village for a week. Had they informed the higher-ups in the district administration and taken timely action, the clash could have been averted, sources said.

While the district collector was at Bhubaneswar to attend some official work, the superintendent of police was at Berhampur to attend a meeting convened by the deputy inspector general (DIG) of police.

A report from Berhampur says 12 more persons, belonging to two communities, were taken into custody on Friday in connection with Tuesday's violent incidents at Ranalai, taking the arrests to 40.

The DIG of police (southern range), Sanjeeb Marik, saidalthough tension still prevailed in some pockets in the area, the situation is fully under control.

The DIG said 12 platoons of armed police have been deployed at Ranalai and some other sensitive places in the district including Mohana, Adaba, Chheligada, Khajuripada, Saranga and Ramagiri-Udayagiri as a precautionary measure.