"I have no link with Maoists or Naxal outfits at any point of time. They (BJD government) are tyring to entangle my name with Maoists," Mohapatra told reporters.
Saying that Odisha's top Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda's father Ramesh Panda was studying at a time when he was also a student and a co-worker in a Leftist platform, Mohapatra claimed that he was never in touch with Maoists.
Sabyasachi's father Ramesh Panda was also the Nayagarh district president of ruling BJD before his death, he said.
Mohapatra's name was linked with Maoists after the arrest of Sangram Mohanty, son of Maoist mediator Dandapani Mohanty, in Gajapati district on December 5. Sangram was arrested along with Kailash Mandal and police recovered two revolvers, ammunition and Maoist materials during a routine checking.
"Sanrgam joined OJM in the presence of all on November 30. He was arrested by the police on December 5. Therefore, circumstantial evidence indicated that Sangram's arrest might have been a sponsored one. However, I cannnot say for 100 per cent whether it is sponsored," Mohapatra clarified.
Sangram is the son of civil rights activist Dandapani Mohanty who played the role of mediator on behalf of maoists during the abduction of the then Malkangiri collector R Vineel Krishna in 2011 and two Italian nationals in March 2012. (MORE)