Bhubaneswar: The Opposition BJD Sunday accused the state government of allowing political influence to undermine police action in Ganjam district, citing the recent arrest of BJP Yuva Morcha district president B Somanath Patra in connection with an alleged attack on an on-duty police inspector.
The Opposition party demanded that the police be allowed to function independently and enforce the law without political pressure.
BJD media coordinator and spokesperson Lenin Mohanty, referring to Patra’s arrest, questioned whether the police had come under pressure from the ruling party and alleged that relatively lenient provisions had been invoked against him.
Mohanty alleged that relatives and representatives of Minister Bibhuti Jena had repeatedly figured in cases involving alleged law violations, but claimed that the police had failed to act firmly in some instances.
Citing an earlier case involving the minister’s nephew Deepak Jena, Mohanty alleged that his name was subsequently dropped from the police chargesheet in a case relating to the alleged assault of an advocate and his family.
He also referred to the arrest of another nephew, Biswajit Jena, in connection with the alleged suicide of a female student and alleged that the police did not make his photograph public and did not submit the case diary before the court, facilitating his bail.
Mohanty also alleged that the Enforcement Directorate had conducted a search at the residence of another person identified by the BJD as a representative of Minister Jena, Sunil Patra, but claimed that the matter was subsequently suppressed.
The allegations made by the BJD could not be independently verified.
The party’s claims regarding the individual cases and alleged political interference would require confirmation from the police and other concerned authorities.
The BJD demanded that the police be allowed to function free from political pressure and called for strict and uniform enforcement of the law, irrespective of the political affiliations of those involved.
