Around 5,000 Congress supporters on Saturday staged protest at Chandikhol in Jajpur district demanding strong action against Barchana BJD MlA Amar Prasad Satpathy for his alleged nexus with notorious gangster Usman Ali, alias, Tito.
Addressing the protest meeting, senior Congress leader Sitakanta Mohapatra stated that large-scale illegal quarrying in several Buddhist sites at lalitagiri, Udayagiri, Sukhuapada and landa hillocks in the district by Tito and his associates has been posing serious threat to the ancient Buddhist places.
Tito, in a clear nexus with Government officials, had been illegally lifting stones and morum from the hillocks. Tito gifted a luxury Fortune car to MlA Satpathy, but officials of the Crime Branch are yet to arrest the MlA, said Congress leader Suresh Sahani, adding that the MlA and his supporters earned crores of rupees through illegal sand and stone quarries in the Barchana area.
Addressing the meeting, PCC working president Chirnjib Biswal alleged that Tito and his associates had links with the Barchana MlA, for which Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should sack him from the BJD.
The meeting was also addressed by Congress leaders Debi Prasad Prusti, Padmakar Guru, Ajay Samal, Suvendu Mohanty and others.