BJP candidate hospitalised after being assaulted in Berhampur

BJP candidate Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy attacked by independent contestant in Odisha, hospitalized with chest fracture.

Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy, a Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha candidate from Berhampur in Odisha’s Ganjam district, was the victim of a vicious attack on Monday by Shiv Shankar Das, an Independent contestant from the Berhampur Assembly seat.

Mr. Panigrahy was admitted to MKCG Medical College Hospital, Berhampur, and later shifted to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.

Mr. Das was arrested by police personnel who were present. The BJP candidate, in his complaint, said he was speaking to the inspector in-charge of Gosaninuagaon police station about the sealing of the electronic voting machine used at booth number 132 around 9.15 p.m. on Monday when the unprovoked attack by Mr. Das began.

The Independent candidate tried to kill Mr. Panigrahy by squeezing his neck and landing blows on his chest, the complaint says. The assailant was booked under sections 324 and 307 of the IPC. The Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Berhampur, where Mr. Das was produced rejected his bail and sent him to judicial custody.

Meanwhile, a counter complaint was registered by Asha Kumar Das, the wife of the accused Independent candidate. Family members said Mr. Panigrahy had suffered a chest fracture following the brutal attack.