Congress leaders meet police chief
Three senior Congress leaders Narasingha Mishra, Kishore Patel and Tara Prasad Bahinipati on Monday met DGP Prakash Mishra in connection with the murderous assault on Bahinipati’s relatives at Jeypore on April 10 night.
The leaders asked the DGP to ensure arrest of the attackers immediately so as to avoid any further escalation in the anger that is building up in Jeypore over the post-poll incident.The DGP assured them that the perpetrators of the attack would be arrested within two to three days.
The brother and nephew of Congress candidate in the Jeypore Assembly seat Tara Prasad Bahinipati were stabbed with sharp weapons by a group of BJD activists in a hotel room a few hours after the polling was over. The entire scene was captured by the CCTV set-up in the hotel and the culprits were identified from the footage.
The attackers included the president of the Koraput district unit of the Youth BJD. Bahinipati had alleged that the attack was carried out at the behest of his BJD rival contestant and Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda, who, however, has denied his involvement in the incident.
What has angered Bahinipati as well as the public in Jeypore is the inexplicable failure of the police to nab the culprits even ten long days after the incident. This has given rise to suspicion that they are enjoying political patronage.
Bahinipati had on Saturday warned that the people in Jeypore would resort to a gherao of the Naveen Nivas, the residence of the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, if the Government failed to arrest those involved in the attack of his family members within three days. The deadline ended on Monday.