India, May 25 -- Nineteen people were sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Odisha's Nabarangpur district in a 2016 clash between two groups that left three persons dead.

Additional District Judge Sunita Patnaik pronounced the verdict on Saturday after examining witnesses, testimonies and documentary evidence.

The incident happened on July 16, 2016, at Baunshbeda village in Umerkot block following a dispute over the cultivation of Government land.

According to the prosecution, Balaram Harijan of Baunshbeda village had been cultivating a patch of Government land at nearby Telgaon village. Tribal villagers opposed it and urged the Forest Department to plant saplings there.

Balaram allegedly uprooted the saplings, triggering tensi...