Clash over political rivalry in Jajpur injures 15

 Jajpur: At least 15 persons were injured, five of them seriously, in a clash between supporters of an Independent MLA and a BJD leader in Jajpur district on Sunday, police said. Several vehicles, including bikes and cars, were vandalised in the clash in the farmhouse of BJD leader and former Dharmasala MLA Pranab Kumar Balabantaray near Panturi under Jenapur police limits, police said.

The injured were admitted to Dharmasala Community Health Centre. Later, five of them were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

Over 30 BJD workers, including some women, said to be supporters of Balabantaray, were having a feast at the farmhouse. Around 50 supporters of Independent MLA from Dharmasala, Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo, barged into the farmhouse with lethal weapons and attacked the BJD workers without any provocation, leaving 15 of them injured, alleged Balabantaray.

They also vandalised more than 20 vehicles, including four cars parked in the farmhouse, he alleged.

On being informed, police reached the spot and sent the injured to the hospital for treatment. Terming the attack politically motivated, Balabantaray said it was a result of long-standing political rivalry.

This is not the first case, and similar incidents had taken place since the last Assembly elections in Dharmasala Assembly segment, he said. In the 2024 Assembly elections, Balabantaray lost to Sahoo in the Dharmasala constituency.

“We have filed a complaint with the local police in connection with the incident. We have lost faith in Jajpur police. We will take up the matter with the Director General of Police (DGP),” said the BJD leader.

Meanwhile, BJD leaders and workers are holding a dharna before the DGP camp office here on Monday, demanding the arrest of the persons involved in the attack on party workers in Jajpur district on Sunday.

On the other hand, a supporter of Sahoo alleged that he was attacked by the supporters of Balabantaray while he was passing on that way in his car. Jenapur police said two separate complaints have been filed by the two parties in connection with the incident.

“We have launched an investigation into the incident,” said Jenapur police station Inspector in-charge Nirupama Jena. However, no one has been arrested so far, police said.

Balabantaray was attacked, and his car was vandalised, allegedly by some supporters of Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo, the sitting Dharmasala MLA, in April this year. But Balabantaray escaped unharmed following the attack.