Bhubaneswar:
Fresh footage has emerged of the Congress Party's Parivartan Rally held in Bhubaneswar last Thursday, which reportedly shows Jagadish Tytler, in charge of party's affairs in Odisha, asking the Congress workers to violate the prohibitory orders that were in force.
Mr Tytler was heard saying "Hallo bolo, todo todo" (Break it) during his speech at the rally.
Mr Tytler has already been booked for criminal conspiracy, along with other Congress leaders, in connection with the violent clashes outside the Odisha Assembly. Several protesters, including 60 policemen, were injured in the clashes that followed.
Mr Tytler was leading close to 25,000 Congress workers, who were protesting outside the Assembly to demand the resignation of Chief Minister Navin Patnaik for what they allege is his involvement in the coal block allocation scam.
Police had put prohibitory orders in the area, which the Congress workers defied. As some of them broke through one of the barricades to storm the Assembly, the cops resorted to tear gas to control the situation.
One of the injured cops, 39-year-old Pramila Padhi, alleged Mr Tytler instigated the mob. "About 30 to 40 youths attacked me, showered blows, kicked me from back as soon as Jagadish Tytler called on party workers to break the barricade," she said. Ms Padhi, who was brutally assaulted by the mob, is recuperating at a city hospital.
On Saturday, the Bhubaneswar Police had filed criminal conspiracy cases against Mr Tytler and Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik in connection with the clashes outside the Odisha Assembly. So far, 35 people have been arrested for the clashes and violence.
The Congress has apologised for a woman cop being beaten up by a mob on the rampage during the protest. "We are sorry that the woman cop got injured," Mr Tytler said, but quickly added that "there are two sides to the story. Our people have also been injured. The cops attacked us first."
However, Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan defended Mr Tytler. According to him, Mr Tytler had only asked the partymen to come forward for jail Bharo. "He did not instigate violence. I do not think calling upon partymen to court arrest is any crime or instigation," the Congress Chief Whip said.
Congress has filed a counter case against the state government and the police. The First Information Report or FIR filed by the Congress has blamed them for alleged "brutalities" and "excesses" against party workers.
But Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner Sunil Roy said television footage clearly shows that the protesters threw stones at policemen around the time the last speeches were delivered by Congress leaders. The police, he said, used utmost restraint in using water canons and tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. But the mob kept coming back to attack the policemen and it was then that they decided to chase them away, he said. Mr Roy said the Congress leaders who had organised the rally would be taken to task for violating the conditions of the licence granted to them to hold a "peaceful rally and demonstration".
(With inputs from Agencies)