Three Arrested Following Attack on Former MLA in Odisha

Incident Overview

In Jajpur district, Odisha Police apprehended three individuals linked to the alleged assault on Pranab Balabantaray, a leader of the BJD and former MLA, as reported by an official on Tuesday.

The suspects, identified as Suresh Samal, Rajendra Barik, and Susant Samal from Aruha village, were taken into custody on Monday night.

According to Jajpur Road Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Laxmidhar Swain, the trio was presented in court, where their bail request was denied, leading to their remand in jail.

Balabantaray was reportedly attacked by a group while en route to the Hingula Yajna event in Aruha village on Sunday.

As he approached the venue around 1 PM, a group of youths armed with clubs blocked his vehicle and began their assault.

Fortunately, the former MLA was unharmed, thanks to the intervention of local residents, although his vehicle sustained significant damage.

Balabantaray accused supporters of local MLA Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo of orchestrating the attack, claiming, "They had been plotting for the last couple of days to kill me. They had come with swords to attack me."