JAJPUR: Jajpur police on Monday arrested four persons for their alleged involvement in the violent attack on supporters of former Dharmasala MLA and BJD leader Pranab Kumar Balabantray at his farmhouse in Panturi village.
The accused are reportedly supporters of Dharmasala legislator and BJP leader Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo. The police action came after a host of BJD leaders launched an indefinite dharna before the camp office of the DGP in Bhubaneswar from Sunday night demanding arrest of Sahoo who, they alleged, was responsible for the violence.
Confirming the arrest, Jajpur SP Yash Pratap Shrimal said, “We are verifying the incident that occurred on Sunday. Efforts are underway to ascertain if more people were involved in the violence. If confirmed, more arrests will be made.”
Without disclosing the names of the four accused, Shrimal said they will be produced in the local court on Tuesday. Two separate cases have been registered on basis of the complaints filed by both the warring groups. Jajpur Road SDPO Laxmidhar Swain is camping at Jenapur police station to supervise the investigation, he added.
On the day, supporters of Sahoo also staged dharna at Jenapur police station demanding action against BJD workers and supporters of Balabantray. The agitation was later withdrawn after police assured them of action.
On Sunday afternoon, 15 BJD workers suffered injuries after being allegedly attacked by supporters of the Dharmasala MLA at Panturi under Jenapur police limits. The injured were admitted to Dharmasala community health centre and later five of them were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.