Odisha MLA Drives Car Into Crowd, 22 Injured

At least 22 people, including 10 police personnel and two journalists, were injured on Saturday when suspended BJD MLA Prasant Jagdev's vehicle allegedly ploughed through a crowd at Banapur in Khurda district, about 100 km from here, police said. 

Mr Jagdev, the MLA from Chilika, was also critically injured as he was roughed up by a mob after the vehicle mowed down a section of the crowd which had gathered outside the Banapur BDO's office when the election for the block chairperson was underway, the police said.

A case has been registered against him at Banapur town police station under different sections of IPC including those dealing with attempt to murder, obstructing officers from discharging their duties and causing grievous injury to people, central range inspector general Narasingha Bhol, who rushed to the accident site said.

Jagdev is now in police custody and will be arrested after his discharge from hospital, he said. The MLA was first treated at a local hospital and later transferred to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Khurda district superintendent of police Alekh Chandra Pahi said.

Two persons, the Banapur police station inspector-in-charge RR Sahu and a local woman were seriously injured in the incident and they too were rushed to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, for treatment, officials said. The journalists who were injured were present at the spot.

The IG said that a DSP rank officer will probe the alleged reckless driving by the MLA.

"When the Banapur police station inspector in-charge attempted to stop the MLA, he was also hit by the lawmaker's vehicle," Bhol said.

Saturday's incident was not the first involving the MLA. He was suspended from the ruling party last year for attacking a dalit leader of the opposition BJP. He was also accused of assaulting BJP workers at Manmunda in 2016, attacking Bolgarh tehsildar in 2018 and a staff of Chilika Development Authority in 2020.

Though he was suspended from BJD in September 2021, Mr Jagdev was often seen in the party's state headquarters during different programmes, the BJP alleged.

The BJD washed its hands off the Chilika MLA and dubbed his action as "gruesome." Party spokesperson Sasmit Patra said, "The Biju Janata Dal strongly condemns this barbaric act by Chilika MLA Prashant Jagdev at Banpur today. Violence has no place in democracy and such an act is shocking and unfortunate."

BJD, he said, would like the police and administration to take the "strongest action" against the accused as per law.

Mr Jagdev was suspended from BJD for his activities in the past, he added.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi demanded strong action against the MLA.

Opposition Congress too condemned the incident. Its senior leader Sharat Patnaik said that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who is in charge of the home department besides being the BJD president should take the incident seriously.

Congress leader Suresh Routray said the Banapur incident is a "rerun of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident".

There are several allegations of violence against the MLA. "This kind of behaviour does not suit an elected people's representative," he said.

Eight people were killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh last year in October after violence erupted during a farmers' protest. 

Of the eight killed, four were farmers, who were allegedly knocked down by vehicles driven by BJP workers travelling to welcome Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to an event in the area.

Three BJP workers were killed in retaliatory violence and a journalist who was covering the incident also died.