Odisha: Independent candidate arrested for assault on BJP LS nominee

Bhubaneswar:: The Odisha police on Tuesday arrested independent candidate Shibashankar Das, who is contesting from the Berhampur assembly seat, in connection with the attack on BJP’s Berhampur Lok Sabha nominee Pradeep Panigrahi.

Panigrahi and Das reportedly came to blows at Gosaninuagaon on Monday afternoon when the polling was underway at the booth in Utkalmani Upper Primary School in the first phase of polls in the state.

The independent candidate was booked on attempted murder charges and has been sent to judicial custody after the rejection of his bail petition.

Panigrahi was on Tuesday shifted to Bhubaneswar AIIMS after initial treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.

Wife of Pradeep Panigrahi, Sujata said, “We came to AIIMS Bhubaneswar as there was a fracture in the chest; and also, there is an injury in the neck. All this happened because of the fear of losing the polls. Violence has reached its peak in Odisha while the CM continues to boast about non-violence. People will give a befitting reply."