Bhubaneswar: BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan was arrested connection with the brutal attack on Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo. Earlier, police had arrested five persons in this connection.
Sources said Pradhan was arrested after he surrendered at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) at 10pm. After medical examination at Capital Hospital, he was arrested and forwarded to SDJM court at 10.30pm.
Soon after arriving at the DCP office, the two-time MLA candidate from Bhubaneswar Central said that he was ready to cooperate in the investigation by the police into the assault on senior OAS officer Ratnakar Sahoo at BMC headquarters on Monday. “I have come here to cooperate with the investigation,” Pradhan stated, adding, “If my arrest can resolve the issue, I am ready to cooperate.”
Police had tightened security arrangement to avoid any untoward incident as hundreds of Pradhan’s supporters had gathered at the office of the DCP.
Soon after his arrest, the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Association withdrew its agitation. It was announced by association president Jyotiranjan Mishra. Earlier on the day, the association had announced that its agitation will continue until demands including the arrest of Pradhan are met by the State government.
After holding a meeting on the issue, the association gave a three-day ultimatum to the state government for his arrest, accusing him of being the prime accused in the attack on Monday.
The association had made three specific demands – immediate arrest of Pradhan, safety and security for all OAS officers, and public condemnation of the incident by the State government.
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