Bhubaneswar: After days of political commotion over the links of some leaders with the Dhalasamant brothers, the statement of senior Congress leader and member of the PCC Coordination Committee, Lalatendu Bidyadhar (Lulu) Mohapatra challenging the police to make a thorough investigation into the case has triggered a war of words between the ruling BJD and the Opposition.
Talking to media persons here on Wednesday, Lulu Mohapatra said it is clear that the BJD is trying to implicate him in this case as it has done with the former Sanakhemundi Congress MLA Ramesh Jena who has been arrested by the police for his alleged links with the Dhalasamant brothers. But the police should also conduct a thorough probe to find out whether BJD leaders have links with the criminal siblings.
“The police need to call us and seek details about our links with the Dhalasamant brothers. As we had gone to attend their function as political leaders, police should ask us whether we had links with the criminal siblings and how long our relationship is with them,” a defiant Mohapatra said.
It may be mentioned that Mohapatra had admitted that he knew Sushil Dhalasamant for a long time after his photo with him was carried in the media.
On the other hand, the BJP has called for an independent SIT probe which it said would come up with concrete evidence of the close links of the BJD with the Dhalasamant brothers.
“Dhalasamant brothers were closely associated with the BJD. They used to attend most of the party meetings and even addressed them. They had also participated in the BJD’s Jan Sampark Yatra. They used to supply manpower to the BJD and were considered active members of the party. There is no doubt that BJD ministers and MLAs have direct links with the Dhalasamant brothers,” BJP state general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan told the media on Wednesday.
Maintaining that the present investigation will not be able to reveal the details about the links of the ruling BJD leaders with the Dhalasamant brothers, he demanded that the state government should form a special investigation team (SIT) for an independent and impartial probe to bring out the truth.
Reacting to the statement of Harichandan, BJD spokesperson Samir Dash said the BJP to demand for a SIT probe into the matter is without any basis. The fact remains that the BJD will have no problems as it is not involved with the Dhalasamant brothers.
Referring to the statement of Lulu Mohapatra, he said; "Lulu Babu would have briefed the media much earlier if had the evidence to put the BJD in trouble and would never have waited for the police to call up."
Asked about the investigation, police commissioner YB Khurania said the duty of the police would be to take appropriate action against those found in the criminal activities of the D brothers. “Whoever is found involved in this case, police will take action against them as per the law,” he added.