15 injured after supporters of BJD leader, independent MLA clash in Odisha's Jajpur

AT to the lowest degree 15 people were injured, quintuplet of them in earnest, in a jar betwixt supporters of an Independent MLA and a BJD leader in Odisha's Jajpur district on Sunday, police said.Several vehicles, including bikes and cars, were vandalised in the clash in the farmhouse of BJD leader and former Dharmasala MLA Pranab Kumar Balabantray near Panturi under Jenapur police limits in the district, the police said.The injured were admitted to the Dharmasala Community Health Centre, and later, five of them were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, they said.Over 30 BJD workers, including some women, said to be the supporters of Balabantray, were having a feast at the farmhouse.Around 50 supporters of Independent MLA from Dharmasala Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo barged into the farmhouse with lethal weapons and attacked the BJD workers without any provocation, leaving 15 of them injured, five of them grievously injured, alleged Balabantray.They also vandalised more than 20 vehicles, including four cars parked in the farmhouse, he alleged.On being informed, police reached the spot and sent the injured to the hospital for treatment.Terming the attack politically motivated, Balabantaray said it was a result of long-standing political rivalry.This is not the first case, and similar incidents had taken place since the last assembly elections and post-election scenario in the Dharmasala assembly segment, he added.In the 2024 Assembly elections, Balabantray lost to Sahoo in the Dharmasala constituency."We have filed a complaint with the local police in connection with the incident. We have lost faith in Jajpur police. We will take up the matter with the Director General of Police (DGP)," said the BJD leader.Meanwhile, several BJD leaders and workers staged demonstration before the office of the DGP in Bhubaneswar, demanding the arrest of persons involved in the attack.On the other hand, a supporter of the Sahoo alleged that he was attacked by the supporters of Balbantray while he was passing on that way in his car.Jenapur police said two separate complaints have been filed by the two parties in connection with the incident."We have launched an investigation into the incident," said Jenapur police station Inspector in charge Nirupama Jena.However, no one has been arrested so far, police said.Balabantaray was attacked, and his car was vandalised, allegedly by some supporters of Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo, the sitting Dharmasala MLA, in April this year. But Balabantaray escaped unharmed following the attack.