BJP today alleged that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was trying to shield BJD MLA Prashant Jagdev accused of assaulting a woman officer on duty in Odisha's Khurda district and demanded that the legislator be immediately arrested.
"The behaviour of Jagdev as a representative of people is not acceptable. Having assaulted a woman Tehsildar recently, the BJD MLA must be arrested forthwith," BJP's Odisha unit president Basant Panda said.
Accusing the Chief Minister and state Revenue Minister Bijayshree Routray of trying to help Jagdev go scot-free, Panda said it was unfortunate on the part of the Revenue Minister to reportedly give a clean-chit to the MLA while police investigation into the case is in progress.
Though Patnaik has all along been maintaining that the law takes its own course in every case, it does not happen in reality, the BJP leader said, adding that because of this the chief minister is often referred to as "merchant of reality."
Panda alleged that the BJD MLA was alegedly involved in attack on police and servitors during Lord Jagannath's Navbakalebar festival last year, misbehaving with a lady teacher at Begunia, attack on businessmen near his residence in Bhubaneswar and abusing a minister.
The police had on November 3 registred a case against MLA Jagdev for allegedly assaulting the woman officer on duty in Khurda district.
Khurda SP Manoranjan Mohanty had earlier said the woman tehsildar Niharika Nayak in her FIR alleged that she was hurt when the MLA hurled an object at her during an altercation over an eviction drive at Ekadalia village.
Nayak had filed the FIR against the MLA before the Khurda SP on Wednesday evening.
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