Bhubaneswar: Demanding arrest of the senior BJD leaders and Bhubaneswar Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena for their alleged nexus with the self-styled ‘Golden Baba’ alias Jyotiranjan Beura, the activists of the Odisha Pradesh Chhatra Congress got into a scuffle with the police in the Odisha capital on Friday.
Over 200 Congress students’ wing activists led by their leader and convener of National Students Union of India (NSUI) Itish Pradhan took out a rally from Congress Bhawan and marched towards Naveen Niwas.
However, police stopped them at Sishu Bhawan Square as they tried to break the barricades. Then ensued a scuffle between them. The activists later hurled eggs and tomatoes at the police. To bring the situation under control, police arrested several activists, including Pradhan.
“Several BJD leaders, including the Bhubaneswar Mayor, have close links with the Golden Baba who has swindled collected crores of rupees from people. We demand their immediate arrest failing which, the Congress students’ wing will stage a statewide agitation. This was a trailer. We will show them the complete movie in the coming days,” Pradhan told mediapersons before he being whisked away by police.
Notably, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Odisha Crime Branch has begun an investigation into the massive financial fraud amounting to Rs 12.04 crore and Rs 4.05 crore by the Golden Baba.
A total of 19 cases are pending against Beura in various police stations in the state.
The Commissionerate Police on December 31 last year had arrested the fraudster from Chandrasekharpur in Bhubaneswar for duping a resident of Keonjhar district.
The police were on the lookout for Beura in connection with various fraud cases, following complaints lodged by the victims.
Earlier, he was residing at Niladri Vihar here. Later, he changed his dwelling to Kalarahanga and other parts of the city before fleeing to Delhi.
