Jeypore/Bhubaneswar: The missing incident of the grandson of freedom fighter Laxmi Indira Panda, Babula, turned murkier today after BJP levelled serious charges against two senior BJD leaders of playing foul in the issue.
BJP MLA Pradeep Purohit alleged that Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Das and BJD spokesperson Rabi Narayan Nanda are behind the missing of Babula. "The ruling BJD hatched a conspiracy in hiding Babula. It is a pre-planned abduction in which two senior leaders of BJD Pranab Prakash Das and Rabi Narayan Nanda are actively involved in this. We demand verification of their call records", Purohit alleged at a press meet. Now, there is threat to Babula's life, he added.
Meanwhile, two leaders of the regional party immediately reacted to the saffron party legislator. "The BJP forgot about the safety of the kin of freedom fighter after felicitating them. Now, it has raised fingers towards others in a bid to cover up its own mistake. BJP is habituated in making such baseless statements", BJD leader Rabi Nanda said, adding "I am open to face any sort of investigation".
Similarly, reacting to the BJP leader's allegations, Energy minister said "It is nothing less than a joke. BJP has lost its conscience" , Das told OTV over phone.
Meanwhile, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in a tweet, stated that he has spoken to the DGP over the Babula missing case. He has asked the top cop to expedite the search operation to trace Babula soon, he added in another message.
Two days ago, the family members of Babula had staged a protest in front of the residence of Jeypore Sub-Collector demanding expeditious search operation to trace Babula.
The CM had also instructed the DG to trace the freedom's fighter's grandson soon.
Notably, Babula had accompanied his family members to Raj Bhavan for felicitation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It may be mentioned that Babula’s mother Sujata Panda was also stranded without money after boarding a wrong train to Balasore instead of Jeypore. However, she was rescued by a youth identified as Debapriya Samal, who handed her to the Railway Police Force (RPF) and later the district administration sent her back to Jeypore following intervention by the CM.