JAJPUR: Balichandrapur police on Sunday arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedly assaulting and injuring a journalist, besides looting cash in Mahadeipur area in Jajpur district. The accused Mithun Dalei, was nabbed from Bhubaneswar, police said.
According to the complaint filed with Balichandrapur police, Tusar Ranjan Jena, a local scribe of a vernacular daily, was returning home to Bhuluka village on a bike from Balichandrapur bazar on January 30. Near Mahadeipur village, Dalei intercepted and attacked him with a sharp edged weapon, causing multiple injuries on Jena’s body. The accused then looted cash from his wallet and fled the scene.
Some passersby spotted Jena lying on the road in a pool of blood and took him to Badachana CHC for treatment. However, he was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after his condition deteriorated.
On January 31, Jena’s wife Anita filed a complaint with the local police who registered a case.During investigation, police came to know about the involvement of Dalei who had fled the village after the FIR was filed, police said.
“During the course of investigation, it was ascertained that Dalei had committed the crime to loot cash. We conducted raids on his possible hideouts for the past 15 days and nabbed him from Dumduma area in Bhubaneswar,” said Pramodini Sahoo, IIC of Balichandrapur police station.
The accused was forwarded to the local court on Sunday and later remanded to judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected, she added.