Puri: In what can be termed as a significant development in the otherwise tranquil political scenario in Odisha, Uma Ballav Rath, senior Congress leader and party’s candidate for the Puri Sadar Assembly, sustained head and eye injuries in an attack on him near the Puri bus stand on Sunday evening.
Rath has filed a complaint in this connection at the Puri Kumbharpada police station. Acting on the complaint, police have launched an investigation into the case. It is suspected that the attack was a fallout of the internal rivalry within the Congress party in the Puri district.
According to reports, unidentified miscreants attacked Rath near the Puri bus stand on Sunday evening and fled the scene before he could recognise them.
It is worth mentioning here that tension prevailed in Puri Congress since Sunday morning as a section of the party workers vandalised the party office over the change of Congress candidate for the Puri Sadar Assembly constituency.
Earlier, the party had nominated Sujit Mohapatra for the Puri Sadar Assembly seat, but the AICC published a revised list of candidates on Sunday replacing Mohapatra with Rath. This made Mohapatra’s supporters angry because Mohapatra had already filed his nomination papers before the party changed its candidate. Infuriated over the party’s decision to drop Mohapatra, his supporters went to the district party office and ransacked it on Sunday morning.
The angry supporters tore down party posters and flags and damaged the furniture. They also raised slogans against state Congress leaders.
