Six arrested Cong activists fall sick in jail; admitted to hospital

Angul: At least six out of the 16 Congress activists arrested in Angul during the 12-hour bandh called by the party on August 16 over the Mahanadi issue were taken ill due to their hunger strike and were admitted to hospital today.

Of the six Congress activists, four, including district unit president Pratap Pradhan, were shifted to the SCB Medical College & Hospital in Cuttack after their health condition deteriorated. The rest two were undergoing treatment at the Angul District Headquarters Hospital (DHH).

Notably, police had arrested 16 Congress workers including three minors during the dawn-to-dusk bandh called by the opposition party to protest against the construction of barrages and dams in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi by the Chhattisgarh Government. The arrested Congress workers had resorted to a hunger strike in the Angul jail since then.

Jailer Janardana Malik said all 13 Congress workers were on hunger stir and suffered from dehydration as a result. As the health condition of six of them deteriorated, they were admitted to the hospital while the rest were undergoing treatment inside the jail.

On the other hand, party worker Chndrakanta Dhala said, “We have resorted to the hunger strike protesting the vindictive arrest of 16 party activists under Section 307 of the Cr PC. The case lodged against us under the Section has no grounds.”