BHUBANESWAR: Police on Saturday arrested a Congress worker on charges of rioting during the protest demonstration held near the Assembly on Thursday.
Capital police arrested 29-year-old Mirza Islam Baig of Naharkanta, charging him with leading the violent protest.
Speaking to mediapersons, Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena said police are identifying all the agitators who were part of the violence and attacked the cops.
The names of a few senior Congress leaders have been mentioned in the FIR. Their involvement in the violence is being examined, said Meena.
Meanwhile, the Congress has urged Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati to direct the state government to form a House Committee to investigate the incidents of crime against women. A delegation led by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das and other senior leaders submitted a memorandum to the Governor at Raj Bhavan and sought his immediate intervention in the matter.
Das claimed that when their party tried to raise the issue on the floor of the Assembly, all their 14 MLAs were suspended. “The police also lathi charged our workers when we were holding the gherao programme peacefully near the Assembly. More than 40 Congress workers and leaders sustained injuries and 10 of them are in serious condition,” the OPCC president alleged.
Earlier on the day, CLP leader Rama Chandra Kadam and party MLA Ashok Das staged a dharna in front of the Assembly. However, both were rushed to Capital Hospital after they fell ill.