Bhubaneswar, (Reporterspen), May 27: A large group of BJP workers gathered outside the sub-collector office in Khurda to protest the arrest of MLA candidate Prashant Jagdev, with Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi alleging a conspiracy by the BJD government.
The demonstrators demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Jagdev, threatening to block the National Highway and enforce a shutdown in Khurda if their demands were not met.
Accusing the ruling BJD of orchestrating the “illegal” police action, BJP leaders and workers called for the public release of CCTV footage from the polling booth. Meanwhile, Aparajita Sarangi, BJP’s candidate for the Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat, claimed that the police coerced Jagdev’s vehicle driver, who resides in Ghatikia area, to testify against him.
Sarangi questioned why the CCTV footage from the polling booth was not being scrutinized and made public, stating that locals asserted Jagdev did not tamper with any EVM. Jagdev was arrested for allegedly attempting to damage an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) during the third phase of polling.
Police apprehended him from Begunia and took him to the Bolagarh police station, where he staged a demonstration demanding a thorough examination of the CCTV footage from the Kaunripatna booth.
