Odisha minister, 12 others booked for Mahanga double murder
BHUBANESWAR/CUTTACK: Mahanga police in Cuttack district on Sunday registered case against 13 persons, including state law minister Pratap Jena for their alleged involvement behind the double murder of BJP leader Kulamani Baral (75) and his relative Dibyasingha Baral (80) on Saturday evening.
The case was registered against Jena and 12 others on the basis of a written complaint of Kulamani’s son Ramakanta on Sunday. Ramakanta alleged Jena, who is the local MLA, masterminded the twin murders as the deceased had been raising his voice against alleged corrupt practices in his constituency.
The accused have been booked under sections 302 (murder), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation), 25 and 27 of Arms Act.
“My father was killed because of his continuous tirade against our local MLA and minister Pratap Jena’s corruption and irregularities in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) in the area,” Ramakanta told media persons.
The minister refuted the charges against him. “The allegations against me are baseless. We never promote violence in politics. I strongly condemn the killings. The police should conduct a thorough probe and arrest the culprits. I shall personally ensure that the killers are arrested at the earliest,” minister Jena told TOI.
Police said the killers would be arrested soon. “We have registered the case against the 13 persons, who were named in the complaint. Their alleged complicity, if any, is being properly examined. Nobody, whose complicity in the case is proved, will be spared,” superintendent of police (Cuttack rural) Jugal Kishore Banoth told TOI.
Banoth said previous enmity seems to be the main motive of the double murder. However, the police were yet to ascertain the cause of the previous enmity. “We have formed five separate teams to solve the case. I am personally supervising the investigation,” Banoth said.
BJP, which had until recently been demanding ouster of minister Arun Sahoo for his alleged complicity in the alleged murder of a 5-year-old girl in Nayagarh, has demanded minister Jena’s resignation in the double murder case.
“Since Pratap Jena has been named in the FIR, he should step down on moral ground immediately,” BJP state president Samir Mohanty said. Congress state president Niranjan Patnaik said the police should unravel the mystery from the alleged political murder.