Kendrapada: Pranab Balabantray, BJD leader and former Dharmasala MLA, was attacked and his car vandalised by a group of miscreants at Barua village under Dharmasala police station limits in Jajpur district on Sunday.
Balabantray, who escaped unharmed, was going to attend Hingula Jatra at Barua village when the incident took place. A video of the incident, which went viral on social media platforms, shows Balabantray being assaulted by a group of people armed with bamboo sticks and wooden planks. The attackers also damaged his vehicle. He was rescued by some locals.
Balabantray, however, has not filed any complaint. “We will not lodge any complaint in this case as we have lost our faith in the police force in Jajpur district. Police should take suo moto legal action against the attackers after examining video footage of the incident,” Balabantray said.
“We will arrest all the accused persons in this case soon. Two platoons of police forces have been deployed and security has been tightened in the area to check the law-and-order situation,” the inspector in-charge of Dharmasala police station, Nirupama Jena, said.
Balabantray alleged that criminal activities were on the rise in the district and that the ruling party, BJP, was patronising unscrupulous elements and forcing police not to take any action against them. “The spurt in crime has panicked residents. People in the district are living in constant fear as the number of crimes in the area has suddenly shot up after BJP came to power in Odisha,” he added.
He further claimed that at the behest of current Dharamshala MLA, Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo, some miscreants attacked him and that it was a planned attack.
In last year’s assembly election, Sahoo, an independent candidate, was elected from Dharamshala by defeating Balabantray, who fought on a BJD ticket.
When contacted, Sahoo, who is in New Delhi right now, said, “We never give shelter to any criminal and our supporters are not involved in the incident. BJD is now a divided party and Balabantray was attacked in a clash between two groups of the party. We want punishment for those involved in the incident.”
On 20 Nov, 2024, Sahoo was also attacked and his car was vandalised by a group of miscreants near Budha Bridge in Jajpur district.