BJP MLA Arrested For Assaulting Engineer In Odisha’s Baripada

Baripada: BJP MLA from Baripada Prakash Soren was arrested on Friday for allegedly thrashing an Assistant Executive Engineer at Circuit House here.

He has been booked under Sections 294, 341, 323, 324, 506 and 34 of the IPC.

Ganapati Jena, ITDA Assistant Executive Engineer, Baripada, in his complaint filed at Baripada Town police station had alleged that Soren asked him to meet him at the Circuit House here on Thursday morning. As Jena could not go in the morning due to work pressure, he went to Soren’s house in the evening.

The MLA asked Jena why he was not awarding contracts to his party men instead of BJD workers. Soren also demanded to know why the engineer was not giving money to him, Jena stated in the complaint.

He further alleged that Soren abused him and also tried to strangulate him. As injured Jena was leaving the place, Saroj Khuntia and Assistant Engineer Santosh Kumar Das further chided him.

Acting on the complaint, police initially detained MLA Soren and his two associates for questioning this afternoon. Opposing the detention, supporters of the legislator staged a road blockade in front of the police station.