BJP leader & associate killed in Odisha

Nobody will be spared, he said.Meanwhile, the opposition BJP and Congress strongly reacted over the incident and condemned the double murder and dubbed it as political murder. Senior BJP leader and Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan strongly condemned the incident and expressed concern over the killing of a party leader.

A BJP leader and his associate were killed by miscreants in Odisha's Cuttack district, police said on Sunday. Kulamani Baral, BJP's Salipur in-charge and former Mahanga Block chairman, and his associate Dibya Singh Baral were hacked to death by miscreants when they were returning to their village Nrutang on Saturday night, the police said.

While Kulamani died at Mahanga government hospital on Saturday night, his associate succumbed to injuries at SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack early on Sunday morning. Kulamani's son Ramakanta Baral lodged an FIR following which an accused has been detained, said Maganga Police Station Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) Ranjan Kumar Parida, adding that 12 people have been named in the complaint.

''I have lodged a complaint naming 12 persons for killing my father over political rivalry. The incident is the fallout of the exposure of massive corruption in the PMAY in the region,'' said Ramakant. He alleged that the attack was carried out at the behest of Odisha Law Minister Pratap Jena. ''Another BJP worker was murdered in 2018 and as the cops failed to take any action over the killing. Now they killed my father. The minister is shielding the accused,'' he alleged.

Jena, who represents the Mahanga assembly segment in the Assembly, termed the allegations as false and baseless. The Law minister, however, expressed grief over the incident and said he would ensure that the culprits are arrested.

''I condemn the incident. We do not believe in violence. There is no place for violence in politics. I am hurt over the incident. The allegations against me are false and baseless,'' Jena told reporters. Replying to a question, the minister said: ''I do not know what the opposition BJP leaders are saying. The investigation will reveal the truth.'' Cuttack (Rural) SP B Jugal Kishore said: ''We have started an investigation into the double murder case following receipt of a complaint. A case has been registered under section 302 (murder) of IPC and formed five special teams to nab the culprits.'' The SP said raids are continuing at several places and senior officers are monitoring the investigation. ''Nobody will be spared,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition BJP and Congress strongly reacted over the incident and condemned the double murder and dubbed it as ''political murder''. Senior BJP leader and Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan strongly condemned the incident and expressed concern over the killing of a party leader. He demanded immediate arrest of the culprits involved in the incident.

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik said: ''Earlier, there was a rise in crime against women. Now, political murder has started in Odisha. This must be stopped now and the government should treat the case seriously.'' PTI AAM RG RG RG

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)