Chhatrapur: Spokesperson of the BJP’s state unit Golak Prasad Mohapatra failed to appear at Chhatrapur police station Thursday for his questioning in BJD councilor Lakshmidatt Pradhan’s murder case. He has sought time from the police citing his illness, police said.
This was Mohapatra’s response to a notice issued by the Chhatrapur police to appear in the police station in person for questioning January 28. Mohapatra did not appear in the police station and moved a letter through his lawyers to the police expressing his inability to appear in the police station for questioning due to his illness.
The matter came out when Mohapatra’s lawyers Parthasarathi Nayak and Gouri Kumar Rath visited the police station in the afternoon and delivered a letter to SDPO Ramesh Chandra Sethi in this regard. The lawyers while delivering the letter of Mohapatra to police also submitted a copy of the prescription of a doctor of a private hospital.
In this letter, Mohapatra has sought a month time from the police to appear in the police station for questioning. Chhatrapur IIC Priyaranjan Samantaray was present in the police station when the lawyers delivered Mohapatra’s letter to the SDPO.
Mohapatra had appeared in the police station for questioning over a similar notice by police November 1, 2017. Two police teams in two phases had questioned him for over three hours.
Notably, the slain Chhatrapur NAC and BJD councilor was hacked to death in front of his house September 16, 2017. Chhatrapur police had issued notice to BJP’s state general secretary Bhrugu Buxipatra for questioning February 9. Police arrested 19 persons in this connection while two are out on bail.
PNN