Son’s Arrest Intended At Diverting Attention From Naba Das’ Murder Probe: Odisha Cong MLA

Bhubaneswar: Breaking his silence on the arrest of his son Amit Singh Saluja the previous day, Congress MLA from Odisha Santosh Singh Saluja on Friday said that it was a deliberate attempt to divert the attention of people from a bigger incident that recently rocked the state.

Amit and five others were arrested for allegedly creating a ruckus and threatening the owner of a movie theatre at Kantabanji in Odisha’s Balangir district, and later sent to judicial custody.

Saluja further alleged several serious charges, including the arms act, were slapped on his son as a Police DG has a partnership in the cinema hall business. “While the officials of Odisha Police have failed to crack the broad daylight murder of health minister Naba Das, my son has been intentionally arrested for a minor argument,” said Saluja.

In the complaint, the cinema hall owner alleged that Amit and his friends physically assaulted him and his brothers. They held them captive at gunpoint and took away the hard disc of the CCTV system. However, firearms were seized from the accused.

Police, however, seized Rs 19 lakhs and 17 litres of foreign liquor from a fitness centre owned by Amit at Kantabanji. He is also the state vice president of National Student Union of India, a student wing of Congress.