Bhubaneswar: In a night of high drama, 12 Samiti members of Chatrapur block in Odisha’s Ganjam district were allegedly locked up by police at Barkul Panthanivas in Balugaon on Friday night, ahead of polling for the Chatrapur Block Chairman post.
The Samiti members were seen standing on the balcony of Panthanivas, waving, crying and seeking help. They alleged they had been locked up to stop them from voting in the elections, scheduled at 12 pm on Saturday.
They were later freed by the police.
Sonali Senapati, one of the Samiti members, alleged that the police barged into their rooms at midnight, took away their mobile phones and locked up the place around midnight.
“Policemen are guarding various exit points. They are harassing us. They have taken our mobile phones. We need to cast our votes. If we are not freed, we will jump off the balcony,” Sonali earlier said.
Chatrapur SDPO Gautam Kishan, who reached the spot, denied the allegation that the Samiti members were locked up by the police.
“We had received a complaint that the Samiti members might be threatened and stopped from casting their votes. As a precaution, we provided them with protection. They were not detained by the police. They can leave the place whenever they want,” he claimed.
Elections for the Chatrapur Block Chairman post were earlier scheduled on March 12. But ahead of the polls, it was claimed that six Samiti members had contracted COVID-19 and were shifted to an unknown place by the administration.
The polls were cancelled following the development. After massive protests, the elections were rescheduled on April 2.
