Bloodstains On Vehicle Deepens Mystery Behind ‘Missing’ Husband Of Odisha Panchayat Poll Candidate

Bhubaneswar: The day after the first phase of panchayat elections in Odisha was marred by violence, a Samiti Member candidate of Sankulei gram panchayat in Dhenkanal district, Bharati Rath, on Thursday lodged a complaint about her husband being allegedly kidnapped.

She had found his husband Chinmay Kumar Das’s two-wheeler on Dholpasi-Sankulei road with bloodstains on it. They are residents of Kumardeipur.

Bharati told the media that her husband left for Bebarta Kateni on the two-wheeler after dropping her home last night. She later got a call from him and he told her that some miscreants had detained and assaulted him midway.

His phone number was later switched off.

His family members and villagers then searched for him and found his scooter, a few kilometres away from the village. There were bloodstains on the handle and the footrest, sources said.

Meanwhile, Sadar Police have started an investigation and efforts are on to trace Chinmay.

Notably, voting in this Panchayat is slated for Friday.