Express News Service
BHUBANESWAR: In what was an eerie replay of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident of Uttar Pradesh, Chilika MLA and suspended BJD chief Prasanta Kumar Jagadev on Saturday rammed his automotive right into a crowd at Banpur, about 90 km from right here.
At least 20 individuals, together with 10 police personnel, have been injured when the MLA drove his Land Rover Discovery into a big gathering on the native block workplace the place the block chairperson election was underway. Notorious for his high-handedness and a spate of legal instances underneath his belt, Jagadev confronted the fury of the mob which turned violent and attacked him. He sustained accidents and was shifted to a personal hospital in Bhubaneswar.
The injured included 10 police personnel, six civilians and two journalists. Banpur police station inspector-in-charge Rashmi Ranjan Sahoo additionally suffered accidents when he tried to cease the rushing automobile of Jagadev. They have been all hospitalised.
The ruling BJD, visibly embarrassed by the MLA’s roguish act, termed the entire episode as ‘barbaric’ and stated stringent motion can be initiated in opposition to him. It all began when Jagadev arrived on the Banpur block workplace for the election. Police sources stated, the MLA disembarked from his automotive, picked up an argument with some locals in addition to employees of Opposition events and even threatened that he would run his automobile over them in the event that they tried to dam his method.
Police personnel current on the spot requested the MLA to not proceed until the block workplace in his automotive as the realm was crowded however to no avail. He then drove his automobile straight into the group leaving 20 individuals harm. “Of the injured, three sustained serious wounds. All were rushed to the hospital,” Central Range IG Narasingha Bhol advised The New Indian Express.
Enraged, individuals current on the spot attacked Jagadev. He was thrashed with sticks and lathis. The mob then turned its ire on to the automotive. The MLA, who was bleeding, was rescued by police. He has been booked underneath varied legal costs together with try to homicide. “Preliminary investigation suggests that the MLA ignored the pleas of the senior officers not to proceed further in his car. He deliberately hit the people with his vehicle on the spot,” stated IG Bhol.
Once he’s discharged, he might be arrested and produced earlier than a court docket, he added. In a bid to keep away from any additional flare-up within the scenario, police have imposed curfew in Banpur space.
In Lakhimpur rerun, MLA rams automotive into crowd
The IG visited Banpur police station later within the day and held a gathering with Khurda SP and different officers. On foundation of the grievance by a policeman, Banpur police registered a case in opposition to Prashanta underneath Sections 307 (try to homicide), 323, 324, 325, 326, 332, 333 and 353 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Police can also be investigating if the MLA was driving underneath affect of alcohol when he dedicated the unruly act. Last yr, in September, Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik had suspended him after he allegedly thrashed a BJP chief in Khurda district’s Balugaon space. At least 13 legal instances – together with outraging modesty of a girl – are pending in opposition to the legislator. Police have filed cost sheet in seven instances.