Rourkela: A 25-year-old MBA student and her friend have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a bus driver and its conductor, snatching money from their possession and damaging the vehicle following an accident in Odisha’s Rourkela.
They have been identified as as Gauri Rani Bibhar (25) and Amit Patra (40), a resident of Birjapali. They were arrested on the basis of the complaint of the driver, who along with the conductor, is undergoing treatment at a hospital, police sources said.
Notably, tension erupted at ring road near Singhasani temple on Sunday when the bus, which was on its way to Rourkela bus stand, scratched past a car, the occupants of which then stopped the vehicle and picked up a quarrel with its driver. Subsequently, a dozen other youths arrived at the spot and assaulted the bus driver and the conductor.
The duo – Gauri and Amit – was also questioned in connection with the death of assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Alisa Narmi Lugun, who was allegedly assaulted by a group of unruly youths while managing a crowd at an accident spot. A murder case was registered in connection with the ASI’s death after her husband filed an FIR, alleging that she was beaten to death and he had found injury marks on her face.
Police are also investigating role of another five persons involved in the case, the sources added.
Meanwhile, a video of the incident at RMC Square ring road has surfaced in which Lugun can bee seen holding the hand of a woman with some others attempting to free the latter, leading to an altercation. “How can u touch her without an warrant?” a woman can seen shouting at the person, capturing the incident, while claiming that she was just a passerby.
Reports had earlier claimed that the woman cop had collapsed at the spot following the and was rushed to Rourkela Government Hospital, where she was declared dead by the doctors. It was initially suspected that she might have died due to a cardiac arrest. But her husband refuted these claims.
The ASI’s death was also linked to that of Rourkela Assistant Collector Sushmita Minj, who was found dead in a pond under mysterious circumstances. Sushmita’s brother Sandip had reportedly named Lugun in his complaint to Plant Site police, which he alleged was not accepted. “She was the last witness in my sister’s case,” Sandip told the media.
