BJD MLA, party vice-president booked for 'assaulting' BJP worker in Nuapada ahead of bypoll

Nuapada/Bhubaneswar, Nov 1 (PTI) Two senior BJD leaders, including an MLA, were on Saturday booked for allegedly assaulting a BJP worker in the bypoll-bound Nuapada assembly constituency in Odisha, police said.

The FIR, filed at Komna police station, named BJD vice-president and former MLA Pranab Prakash Das and Khariar MLA Adhiraj Panigrahi as accused.

The complaint was lodged by Jitu Adabanga, a tribal youth and BJP worker, who alleged that the two leaders verbally abused and assaulted him at the farmhouse of BJD general secretary Manoj Mishra in Komna on Friday evening.

Police said the case was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

"Investigation is underway," an officer said.

Adabanga claimed he was rescued by Komna police personnel from the spot.

He was earlier associated with the BJD before joining the BJP after party candidate Jay Dholakia switched sides.

Though Das and Panigrahi were not immediately available for comment, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said, "The allegations are false, fabricated and politically motivated. The BJP has been filing false cases against our leaders after realising that they will be defeated in the bypoll." The FIR came a day after police raided the rented house of senior BJD general secretary and former minister Prithiranjan Gharai in Komna, following allegations that cash was being stored to influence voters.

At a press conference in Bhubaneswar, BJD senior general secretary Lekhashree Samantsinghar alleged that BJP leaders with help of local police have been terrorising the political opponents.

"BJP’s Koraput MLA Raguram Machha’s personal security officer (PSO) on Friday fired blanks in Komna area to terrorise BJD supporters. We demand an explanation from him," Samantasinghar said.

Samantsinghar also alleged that there were attempts to disrupt BJD president Naveen Patnaik’s public meeting scheduled for November 3 at Dhanmandi Ground in Komna block.

She alleged that Panchayati Raj Minister Rani Narayan Naik had encouraged a group of “gram saathis” (village volunteers) to stage a protest rally at the same venue.

"Our Rajya Sabha MP and other leaders met the Nuapada collector today, requesting that no other programme be allowed at the venue on November 3," she said, adding that the administration would be “responsible for any untoward incident.” In another press conference at Nuapada, Odisha Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu accused the BJP of attempting to create disturbance in Nuapada.

"The BJP is worried because our candidate, a tribal leader, has gained wide support," Lallu claimed.

A BJP delegation led by vice-president Jatin Mohanty met the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Bhubaneswar, demanding the immediate arrest and removal of Das and Panigrahi from the constituency to maintain peace before the November 11 bypoll.

In another petition to the CEO, the BJP submitted a list of 108 sensitive booths in Nuapada constituency and stressed the need to ensure free and fair elections. PTI AAM AAM MNB