BERHAMPUR: A local BJP leader suffered critical injuries after unidentified assailants reportedly attacked him with a sharp weapon near Aska in Ganjam district on Monday night.
The injured is 38-year-old Kalia Nahak, the president of BJP’s Haradapadar mandal under Aska block and a resident of Gaudagotha village in Sorada.
Sources said Nahak was on way to his village on a motorcycle when the assailants reportedly intercepted him on the isolated Kamashasan-Gaudagotha road, around 80 km from Berhampur. They allegedly attacked the BJP leader with a sharp weapon, leaving him with grievous injuries to his neck, head and hands. The attackers subsequently fled the spot, believing Nahak to be dead.
Some passersby spotted Nahak lying unconscious in a pool of blood and rushed him to Aska hospital. He was later shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur after his condition deteriorated.
Ganjam SP Harisha BC said a case has been registered and efforts are on identify the attackers. The victim was unable to recognise them as it was dark when he was attacked.
Police said preliminary investigation points to previous enmity as a possible trigger, though the exact motive is yet to be established. Further investigation is underway.