Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 22 : Indian cricketer,Sanju Viswanath Samson Saturday tied the knot with college mate and longtime friend, Charulatha in a low-key ceremony here.

Close relatives, family members and friends attended the function held at a posh hotel this morning.

The 24-year-old wicket keeper-batsman, a member of Kerala Ranji team and representing the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, recently announced his five-years-long affair with Charulatha, hailing from the city.

Clad in a yellow 'kurta' and 'mundu' (dhoti), Sanju said he was very happy to marry his close friend with the blessings of both the families.

A post graduate in Human Resources, Charulatha looked stunning in a traditional saree and ornaments. Both were college mates while pursuing graduation at the Mar Ivanious College here.

The couple would host a reception for friends and fellow cricket team members here in the evening. Hailing from the state capital, Sanju was the youngest player to score a half-century in the IPL and Champions League Twenty20.

He was selected as the "Best Young Player of the Season" in the 2013 IPL through an official poll. Sanju had made his Twenty20 International debut for India against Zimbabwe in the year 2015.

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Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.

Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.

The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.

The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.

Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.

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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.

Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.

Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.

A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.

So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.

More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.