Odisha BJP MLA arrested, released on bail

A BJP legislator of Odisha, Prakash Soren was arrested on Friday for allegedly abusing and physically assaulting an assistant executive engineer at the Circuit House here and was later released on bail, police said.

Soren, MLA from Baripada, was arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged at the Town police station here by the assistant executive engineer in Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Mayurbhanj Superintendent of Police Smit P Parmar said.

As per the complaint, the MLA had called the engineer to the Circuit House here on Thursday evening, abused him in obscene and filthy language and threatened him to give work orders to party workers, the SP said.

The engineer also alleged that that the lawmaker had demanded Rs five lakh from him and threatened to kill him otherwise.

The BJP leader along with his associates then assaulted the engineer with a stick and also kicked him brutally causing him injuries.

The engineer alleged that the MLA had demanded to know why no work was given to his party workers and why all works were handed over only to those of the ruling BJD.

Based on the complaint, which was lodged on Friday morning, the 54-year-old legislator was booked under IPC Sections 294 (obscene language), 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (causing hurt), 324 (causing hurt by means of any instrument), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention), the police said.

Soren was later produced before the court of sub-divisional judicial magistrate Rinati Mishra and released on bail on condition that he will appear before the investigating officer as and when required and not indulge in such acts in future, the police said.

When the legislator was taken into custody by the police, a large number of BJP workers demonstrated outside Baripada Town police station protesting against the police action and demanded his immediate release.