Bhubaneswar: Dharmasala MLA Himanshu Sekhar Sahoo was allegedly attacked by some miscreants at Odisha’s Jajpur town today.

The MLA’s vehicle was partially-damaged in the attack that took place in the evening.

Some people reportedly staged a road blockade at Jajpur over some civic issues. The road blockade left many commuters including the Dharmasala MLA stranded on a bridge at Jajpur.

Amid the chaos, around 20 miscreants armed with sticks and iron rods allegedly attacked the MLA’s vehicle.

The windowpanes of the MLA’s car were damaged in the attack.

The MLA, however, alleged that he was attacked by some supporters of influential Bjiu Janata Dal (BJD) leader and former Jajpur MLA Pranab Prakash Das.

“I was on the way to Jajpur to attend a meeting. Some people were staging a road blockade. Suddenly, around 15 to 20 people attacked my vehicle with sticks and iron rods. They also manhandled me and took away my gold chain. The attackers were saying that they had been sent by BJD leader Pranab Prakash Das to attack and kill me,” said Sahoo.     

Pranab Prakash Das, however, rejected all allegations regarding the involvement of his supporters in the attack. “I came to know about the incident from TV news. BJD does not believe in violence. I condemn the incident and urge the police to conduct a probe in this regard and take stern action against the culprits,” said Das. 

Notably, Sahoo, as an independent candidate, defeated sitting MLA and BJD nominee Pranab Balabantaray from Dharmasala constituency in Jajpur district in this year’s Assembly polls in Odisha.

Sahoo later extended his support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that formed its maiden government in Odisha by securing victory in at least 78 Assembly seats of the total 147 in the state in 2024 elections.