BHUBANESWAR: Commissionerate Police on Tuesday arrested strategic affairs writer Abhijit Iyer Mitra for his comments denigrating the cultural heritage of Odisha and its lawmakers.Mitra was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed against him at Sahid Nagar police station here. Police had registered a case against Mitra under Sections 294, 295A, 153 A, 500 and 506 of the IPC and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act. Later on the day, Mitra was remanded to 14-day judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected by a local court.
Earlier, the Assembly Committee asked Mitra to appear in person again on November 2 and submit an affidavit on the comments made by him. Soon after he reached the State Assembly hall no-14 with his lawyer amid tight security, Mitra was questioned by the House Committee in two phases and his statement was recorded.
Leader of Opposition and Chairman of the Assembly Committee Narasingh Mishra told mediapersons that Mitra has been asked to appear again in person on November 2 with an affidavit. The committee will decide on next course of action after going through the affidavit, he said.
“The committee, which was formed on the basis of allegations made by members of the State Assembly, is probing the matter. Mitra apologised for his ‘stupidity’ before the committee,” Mishra said.The House Committee told Mitra that if he wanted to explain in detail about the statement he made or if he was keen on additional statement, he can mention them in his affidavit. “The Committee, after going through the affidavit, will decide whether it should accept the unconditional apology of Mitra. It will later recommend to the Assembly on next course of action,” Mishra said.
The Opposition Leader said the committee will focus on the allegations against Mitra in the Assembly by the members. “It will submit a report to the Assembly after the investigation is over,” he said.
The House Committee had asked Mitra to appear in person on October 11. Instead of appearing in person, he had tendered an apology through e-mail to Speaker Pradip Amat through the Secretary of the Assembly. Assuming that Abhijit could not arrive due to cyclone Titli, the committee had directed him to appear on October 23.
A decision to form the committee was taken at an all-party meeting convened by the Speaker on the last day of monsoon session of the Assembly on September 20 after members cutting across party lines had protested and criticised Mitra for his comments. Other members of the committee headed by Mishra are Leader of BJP Legislature Party KV Singhdeo, Debi Prasad Mishra, Pramila Mallick, Arun Sahu and Sanjay Dasburma (all BJD). The committee will submit its report on the first day of next session.