Jajpur: Four persons have been arrested for the violent clash at the farmhouse of former Dharmasala MLA and BJD leader Pranab Kumar Balabantray at Panturi village in Odisha’s Jajpur that left 15 supporters injured.
Those arrested are said to be supporters of sitting Dharmasala legislator Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo.
The arrests followed intense pressure from BJD leaders, who had launched an indefinite protest outside the Director General of Police’s camp office in Bhubaneswar since Sunday night, calling for action against those involved in the alleged attack on party workers.
Leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik had also condemn the incident and accused the ruling BJP of encouraging ‘goonda raaj’ in the state.
Confirming the development, Jajpur SP Yash Pratap Shrimal said that further investigation is underway to ascertain if more people were involved in the violence. The identities of the arrested have not been disclosed.
The violent clash
According to sources, a mob of around 50 allegedly stormed the farmhouse near Panturi village, during a meeting of 30 BJD workers, who are supporters of Balabantray, and started attacking them without any provocation, injuring 15 of them. The attackers also vandalised around 15 two-wheelers parked on the farm premises.
On being informed, police arrived at the scene and rushed the injured to Dharmasala Community Health Centre. Five among them were later shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
Balabantray, who visited the spot to check on the injured workers’, claimed that the attack was politically motivated and a result of long-standing political rivalry. “This is not the first such occurrence; similar attacks have happened following previous Assembly elections in the past,” he stated.
While Sahoo’s office has denied the allegation, one of his supporters has filed a counter-complaint, claiming that Balabantray’s supporters attacked him while he was traveling in his car.
Two separate cases have been filed based on complaints from both sides.
