Bhubaneswar: The prime accused in the journalist assault case, Gajendra Dalai, was arrested from Odisha’s Jharsuguda, IG (Northern Police Range) Himanshu Lal informed on Tuesday.
A contractor, he had been absconding since the incident came to the fore.
On Monday, Balangir police had arrested three persons – Avinash Dalai (25), Aditya Jena (31) and Gumar Nayak (40) – and detained a juvenile in connection with the assault on TV journalist Bijaya Pradhan at Khulthipali village under Puintala police limits.
The incident took place on May 23 when Pradhan had gone to report on alleged irregularities in the construction of a guard wall. He was tied up, paraded through the village and thrashed in public. The ordeal reportedly lasted for two hours, after which the perpetrators took him to a nearby temple and forced him to take an oath not to report anything about the incident or the construction work.
They also damaged his camera and two mobile phones and snatched cash from him. Following the incident, Pradhan filed a written complaint at Puintala police station. A video of the assault subsequently went viral.
Balangir SP Abhilash G had earlier said that the contractor involved in the guard wall construction may have played a role in instigating the assault. “His involvement is being thoroughly probed, and he will be arrested if found guilty,” he told reporters.
