Eyewitness Claims Odisha MP Was In his Vehicle During Accident That Killed Scooter Rider

Balangir: The mishap involving the death of a scooter rider after being hit by the vehicle of BJD MP Niranjan Bishi has taken a new turn with an eyewitness claiming that the parliamentarian was present in his car when the accident took place.

BJP had demanded the arrest of the Rajya Sabha member following the accident involving his vehicle near Tamian Square undre the jurisdiction of Patnagarh police station in the district on May 24. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP had claimed that not present in the vehicle when the mishap occurred.

However, the eyewitness, identified as Pramod Behera, reportedly claimed that Bishi had lied by stating that he was not in the vehicle and the driver was taking the car to his home when the mishap took place.

Claiming that Bishi’s car hit the scooter rider at a high speed and dragged him to a field nearby, Behera said the MP alighted from his car and asked him to take him to Larambha Police Station. “I took him pillion on my bike. However, he received a phone cal and then he requested me to take him to his home at Patnagarh instead,” he reportedly claimed.

Thereafter, Bishi called his driver and told him to take the car to Larambha police station and park it there, he said, adding that the MP was dropped by him at his house in Patnagarh.

Refuting the MP’s claim that he was not present in the vehicle at the time of accident, Balangir district BJP president Sibaji Mohanty has alleged that the mishap took place while Bishi was on his way to attend a Sital Sasthi programme.

The BJD MP had earlier told the media that he was not in the vehicle when it hit the scooter rider. “I had gone to Khaprakhol to attend Sital Sasthi Yatra. The accident occurred when the driver was returning to his village after dropping me home. The scooter rider was driving on the wrong side and hit my car,” he added.

Tankadhar Biswal (35) of Indapur village under Larambha police limits had died in the accident on May 24.