BJD leaders, 9 others arrested for assaulting man in Sonepur

Bhubaneswar: Eleven persons, including two locally influential BJD leaders, were arrested in Sonepur district on Saturday for allegedly physically assaulting a man over a social media post.

Police said the two BJD leaders, — Ashok Nanda, husband of Binika block chairperson, and Narayan Luha, vice-chairman of Birmaharajpur block, — were remanded to judicial custody after court rejected their bail pleas.

According to police, one Nitish Kumar lodged a complaint alleging that he was asked to come to a place at Bishipada in Sonepur district without being informed about the intention. Suddenly, Nanda and Luha, along with nine others, arrived. "As per the complaint, all of them abused him," said additional SP (Sonepur ) B Hari Prasad. Nitish sustained injuries on his face and other parts of the body. The doctors have given injury reports. "The arrests were made in two phases," added Prasad.

Police said Nitish worked in a poultry farm at Birmaharajpur. He allegedly wrote some words raking up a previous political issue involving Nanda, who thought it tarnished his image. "We took prompt action after we got prima facie evidence against the culprits of physically abusing the complainant," said Himanshu Lal, IG, northern range.