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Bhubaneswar: The Odisha unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched a scathing attack on Odisha Mines minister Prafulla Mallick accusing him as the chief conspirator in the murder of Salman Rout in Tarabha in Dhenkanal district. The saffron party also demanded that the minister should be arrested in connection with the case.
Addressing media, BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma alleged that the minister is behind the murder of the youth.
“As the minister is the local MLA, he wants his party to win all seats in the ensuing panchayat polls. From initial reports, we have come to know that Prafulla Mallick is the chief conspirator in the murder of Salman Rout, who was an active member of our party. He should be brought under the purview of police investigation and be arrested immediately,” BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma said.
He demanded that the phone call records of the minister must be scrutinised to ascertain his involvement in the matter.
“The minister, police and the prime accused have joined hands to commit the crime. We demand that the phone call records of these three should be analysed to know the truth,” Sharma stated adding that the saffron party, in protest of the murder, would demonstrate in all sub-division headquarters tomorrow.
On the other hand Mallick has termed the allegations levelled by the BJP baseless.
“I am ready for any sort of investigation. The BJP is politicising the issue and wants to gain political mileage in the matter. We are not harbouring anybody and let police investigate. Since police have already arrested the accused, he would be punished by law,” Mallick maintained.
Protesting the murder of Rout the saffron party is observing a 12-hr dawn-to-dusk bandh in Dhenkanal today. ON Friday, Rout succumbed to bullet injuries in Dhenkanal district headquarters hospital after he was shot at during a pre-poll violence in Tarabha village. Yesterday, police arrested Byomokesh Biswal, a jawan of Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP) and prime accused in the murder case.
