Jajpur: Eleven persons including six women have been arrested in connection with the attack on journalists during Panchayat elections in Binjharpur block of Jajpur district, informed sources on Monday.
Reportedly, the prime accused identified as Rakesh Mallick and others had attacked three journalists while covering an alleged incident of booth rigging while the third phase of three-tier rural polls was underway.
The journalists identified as Debashis Sahoo, Gulshan Ali Nawaz, and Bijay Sahoo had sustained severe injuries in the attack and were admitted to the district headquarters hospital in Jajpur.
In the wake of the incident, senior journalists had met the State Election Commissioner at Bhubaneswar and demanded stringent action against the perpetrators of violence.
Jajpur SP Rahul PR today informed that a total of 42 persons have been arrested so far in Jajpur district in different election-related cases including the above-accused persons and three others who had attempted to attack a police team.
