CUTTACK: Palpable tension continued to grip Nrutanga village under Mahanga police station in Cuttack district for the second day following the brutal murder of former Mahanga Block Chairperson and BJP leader Kulamani Baral (73) and his relative Dibyasingh Baral (80) over political rivalry on Saturday night.
Two platoons of police forces have been deployed in the village to check violence over the double murder that has rocked the entire Mahanga Assembly segment.
On Sunday, deceased Kulamani’s son Ramakant Baral has filed an FIR naming 12 persons ncluding eight people from Nrutanga village and four persons from the nearby Jankothi village accusing them of hacking his father and relative to death over political rivalry.
The incident is a fallout of the exposure of massive corruption in the Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) in the region, stated Ramakant in his FIR.
“The attack was carried out at the behest of Law Minister Pratap Jena. The accused persons had also brutally murdered another BJP worker Bikash Chandra Jena in the village in 2018. The police did not take any exemplary action against them then and now they killed my father. The Minister is shielding the accused,” the FIR alleged.
Alleging the involvement of Jena in the double murder, while District BJP unit President Prakash Behera has sought the intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik into the incident, the Law Minister refuted the allegation.
“I will personally look into the case so that culprits get punishment,” said Jena while condemning the murder of the BJP leader.
Cuttack SP (Rural) Jugal Kishore Kumar Banoth said that a case has been registered under section 302 of IPC basing on the FIR lodged by deceased Kulamani’s son.
Meanwhile, Mahanga police on Sunday detained one suspect in connection with the brutal double murder.
“Police scientific team personnel have collected evidence from the spot. As many as five police teams each headed by an inspector have been formed and they are conducting raids at different places to nab the murder accused. Two Additional SPs are monitoring the case,” said Cuttack SP (Rural) Jugal Kishore Kumar Banoth and added that no accused would be spared.
Kulamani, who was a popular leader and played a key role in exposing corruption in the region, was BJP’s Salipur Mandal in-charge (Prabhari).
On Saturday at about 7.30 pm, Kulamani was returning home along with his neighbouring associate Dibyasingh in a motorcycle when some miscreants attacked them with sharp-edged weapons leading to the death of Kulamani on the spot.
Dibyasingh who was rushed to SCB Medical College and Hospital succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment in the wee hours of Sunday.