Bhubaneswar: Hours after 80-year old BJP leader Kulmani Baral and his associate Dibya Singh Baral were stabbed to death in Cuttack, police have booked state law minister Pratap Jena and 12 people in connection with the murder. The arrest comes after a complaint was lodged by leader's son Ramakant Baral
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 13 people have been named in the complaint.
'I have lodged a complaint naming 13 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.
Police said that Kulmani Baral and his associate were killed on Saturday night while they were returning to their native village Nritang. Kulmani Baral was rushed to a government hospital but he succumbed to his injuries and his associate Dibya died SCB Medical College Hospital.
Mahanga Station House Officer Ranjan Kumar Parida said, "On the basis of Ramakanta Baral's complaint, we have filed an FIR against 13 people and one of them has been arrested.
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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.'
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.'
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With PTI inputs
