Odisha Cong leader arrested for making Sambad’s headline vulgar

Paralakhemundi: Odisha Congress leader Basant Panda paid a big price for allegedly modifying a headline published in Odisha’s leading daily ‘Sambad’ with vulgar word and making that news clipping viral on social media as he was arrested by police here on Tuesday.

Basant Panda, who currently holds the post of president of Parala Nagar in Odisha Congress party, was arrested on basis of a complaint filed by BJD’s Gajapati district president Pradeep Nayak in Paralakhemundi police station.

However, he walked free on bail later.

The search is underway to nab the person accused of making the modified vulgar headline viral on social media.

According to reports, Basant Panda is accused of modifying a news headline published in the first page of Berhampur edition of Sambad on September 1 with a sense of vulgarity. He allegedly used a vulgar and abusive word in the headline on grievance hearing by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in village.

Panda allegedly posted the modified vulgar news clipping with a particular group on WhatsApp following which it went viral on social media.

Reacting to the vulgar headline, BJD leader Pradeep Nayak lodged a written complaint against Panda in police station.

Following investigation into the matter, police arrested the accused late on Monday night at around 2 am under sections 294, 504, 504 C, 153 A, R/W 66 (A) (B) and (C) of IPC.

“Panda was arrested on basis of the complaint filed by BJD district president. As he is not the prime accused in the news clipping posting, he has been granted bail on PR bond. Taking the matter seriously, police is searching to nab the main accused, who circulated the news clipping on social media platform,” said Parala SDPO Utkal Ranjan Das, who is probing the case.

As the news report was about Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s programme, BJD district head was informed about posting the news by making the headline vulgar. Later, he lodged the complaint with police against Panda after going through the post from a particular WhatsApp group.

Appreciating police for timely action in the case, Nayak said, “Police action is an indirect warning so that nobody will repeat such thing in future”.

The modified headline was highly condemned by the local BJD leaders and statesmen.