Balabantaray’s car vandalised in Jajpur

Jajpur: The BJD leader and former Dharmasala MLA, Pranab Kumar Balabantaray, came under attack and his car was vandalised allegedly by the supporters of local MLA at Aruha village in Jajpur district on Sunday. Balabantaray, who escaped unharmed, was reportedly going to attend a religious ceremony at Arugha village when the incident took place.

According to reports, the former legislator was heading in his SUV to take part in the Hingula Yajna at Aruha village.

At about 1 pm, when he was about to reach the venue, his vehicle was intercepted allegedly by some supporters of Dharmasala Independent MLA Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo near the site of Hingula temple.

The armed miscreant allegedly attacked the former MLA, but he escaped unharmed as some locals reached the spot and rescued him. But Balabantaray’s vehicle was damaged by the armed group. The incident sparked tension among locals as well as the former MLA’s supporters. Balabantaray blamed the police for the incident. The BJD leader, however, has not filed any complaint with the police saying he has no faith in Jajpur police. “I was invited to the Hingula Yajna at Aruha village. Accordingly, I was coming to participate in the religious ceremony in my SUV from Bhubaneswar. When I reached there around 1 pm, the supporters of the local MLA attacked my vehicle and tried to kill me.

They had been plotting to kill me by using armed goons for the last couple of days. They had come with swords to attack me,” said Balabantaray.

“The incident took place in the presence of police and they seized weapons from the attackers. We will not lodge any complaint in this case as we have lost our faith in the police in Jajpur district. Police should take suo motu legal action against the attackers after examining video footage of the incident which went viral,” Balabantaray said. He further claimed that it was a planned attack. The BJD leader alleged that criminal activities were on the rise in the district and that the ruling party BJP was patronising unscrupulous elements and forcing police not to take any action against the culprits.

“The spurt in crimes has panicked residents. People in the district are living in constant fear as crimes in the area have suddenly shot up after BJP came to power in Odisha,” he added.

Earlier too, Balabantaray’s vehicle was attacked allegedly by the supporters of the Dharmasala MLA in Dharmasala area in October 2024. Tension prevailed in Aruha and neighbouring villages after news of the attack spread.

Two platoons of police forces have been deployed and security has been tightened in the area to check the law-and-order situation. “We have started investigation into the incident and will arrest all the accused soon,” said Jenapur police station IIC

Nirupama Jena.