Scooter rider's death: Eyewitness claims MP Niranjan Bishi was in his car during accident

An eyewitness to the accident involving Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Niranjan Bishi's car last month claimed that the parliamentarian was present in his vehicle when the accident occurred. A scooter was killed in the mishap.

The eyewitness, Pramod Behera, claimed that Bishi lied that he was not in the car and the driver was taking the car back to his home when the mishap occurred.

Addressing the reporters, Behera said, “Bishi’s car hit the scooter rider at high speed and dragged him to the nearby field. The MP got down from his car and asked me to take him to the nearby Larambha Police Station. I took him pillion on my bike. However, after receiving a phone call, he asked me to stop midway and requested to take him to his home at Patnagarh instead.”

“He then called his driver and told him to take the car to Larambha police station and park it there. I left him at his home in Patnagarh,” he added.

The accident had occurred on May 24 when Bishi’s car hit a scooter rider near Tamian Square in Bolangir killing him on the spot.

The deceased was identified as Tankadhara Biswal of Inapur village in Larambha.

Bishi, however, had claimed that he was not present in the vehicle when it hit the scooter rider. In fact, the driver was returning home after dropping Bishi when the incident happened, he had said.

Speaking to OTV, Bishi had said, “I had gone to Khaprakhol last night to attend Sital Sasthi Yatra. The driver was returning to his village after dropping me home when the mishap occurred. I was not in the vehicle.”

Following the death of the scooter rider, the BJP had demanded the arrest of the ruling BJD MP.

“The MP was on his way to attend a Sital Sasthi programme when the accident occurred. After the accident, the MP should have rushed the injured person to a nearby hospital. Far from doing this, the MP sneaked into a nearby house. A hit-and-run case should be registered against him and he should be arrested,” Bolangir district BJP president Sibaji Mohanty had said.