Odisha minister's kin, three others injured in attack
In an attack by a group of unidentified miscreants in Banabira area, near bypoll-bound Bijepur Assembly constituency, Odisha Labor Minister Susanta Singh's brother and three others were injured on Friday, police said. The bypoll for the Assembly will be held tomorrow and the counting of votes will take place on February 28. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of Congress MLA Subal Sahu.
Attackers also opened fire and smashed the vehicle's windshield
The minister's brother and his associates were traveling in a car when the miscreants intercepted their vehicle and attacked them in Bargarh district, Additional Superintendent of Police Yashobant Senapati said. The attackers also opened fire and smashed the vehicle's windshield with stones. "All injured persons were rushed to nearby Sohela Hospital and later shifted to another at Burla for treatment," the officer said.
Three arrests have been made so far
The police officer further added that three people have so far been arrested in connection with the incident, he said, adding that police have also seized their vehicles. "Separate police teams have been pressed into service to arrest more people in the case," he said. Soon after the incident, the ruling BJD leaders accused the BJP of engineering the attack.
BJD blames BJP for the violent attack
"The violent attack was a part of a conspiracy by the BJP to derail tomorrow's poll process as the saffron party fears defeat in the bypolls," BJD Vice-President Prasanna Acharya alleged. The BJP leaders, however, refuted the allegation as "baseless" and said their party does not believe in violence. The attack could be fallout of a personal rivalry, BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma said.
