Balangir: Finally, Police today arrested Patnagarh MLA Saroj Meher. He had publicly humiliated a Public Works Department (PWD) Junior Engineer (JE). Also, he had forced him to do sit-ups over the alleged poor quality of road construction.
Earlier in the day, the MLA was detained by police for questioning in connection with the case. Lately, he has been taken to Patnagarh Police Station where police took him into custody.
As per the latest report, Meher has been sent to Patnagarh Sub-Jail after the ADJ Court dismissed his bail application.
Meher has been charged under Sections 341, 363, 294, 323, 353 and 355 of IPC and Section 3 of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Notably, a few days back a video featuring the MLA forcing the PWD JE of Belpada Jayakanta Sabar in public to do sit-ups surfaced. Later, he was even seen directing the Engineer-in-charge to slap the JE.
After the video created a huge uproar in the State, the government ordered a probe into the incident and Balangir Collector Arindam Dakua submitted a report on the same subsequently.
Later, the District Tribal Welfare Association appealed the government to take action against Meher. They threatened to gherao the Odisha Assembly on June 26 over the incident if the demand is not fulfilled.
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Ms Kalinga