BHUBANESWAR: Health Minister Naba Kishore Das died after being shot by an on-duty policeman while getting down from his car at Brajrajnagar in Jharsuguda district on Sunday. The tragedy that stunned everyone is a reminder of several such attacks on the mighty and influential politicians of the state. Sources said prior to the firing on Das, five prominent leaders were attacked by assailants between 2007 and 2014. While two among them died, three survived.
Senior BJD leader and former minister Maheswar Mohanty was attacked in his home town Puri on February 22, 2014 night when he was returning home on a scooter after attending a programme. Two bullets were shot at Mohanty, who was then the Law, Culture and Tourism minister. The assailant fled after he fell down from his scooter. He was shifted to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar and survived.
On February 26, 2007, former Congress MLA Dhanurjay Sidhu was attacked. Unidentified bike-borne miscreants waylaid him and opened fire when he was going to an event in his own vehicle. He was then the Champua MLA and lucky enough to escape the attack.
Suspected Maoists attacked former minister Sudam Marndi and BJD MLA Jagabandhu Majhi in separate incidents in 2009 and 2011. While the then Umerkote MLA Majh and his personal security officer were shot dead at a public meeting in Nabarangpur district, Marndi, a JMM MP then, escaped unhurt.
However, Marndi’s security guard and two police personnel were gunned down by the suspected Maoists after a football match in Mayurbhanj district. Minister for Commerce and Transport Tukuni Sahu’s husband Abhimanyu Sahu was also killed in a gruesome incident on December 15, 2013. Abhimanyu, an influential leader in Titlagarh area, was hacked to death by some miscreants when he was out on a morning walk.