Odisha post poll violence escalates, one dead, no arrests made

Bhubaneswar: A Biju Janata Dal (BJD) worker was hacked to death by the supporters of rival Congress party in Odisha’s Kendrapada district as post poll violence escalated in the area, police said. [caption id=“attachment_1533637” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Ranjit Nayak, 40, was killed yesterday evening near Patrapur village, about 150 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, by two Congress supporters, Superintendent of Police Rabi Narayan Behera told IANS. The deceased and the attackers belonged to the same area. An investigation was on to find out if more people were involved in the crime. No arrest has been made so far, he said. Nayak, a BJD worker, had allegedly attacked some Congress workers on Saturday for bursting fire crackers near his house to mark the victory of their candidate in the assembly election. In an act of revenge, the Congress supporters attacked Nayak with sharp weapons when he was alone at the outskirts of the village. He was rushed to a hospital but the doctors declared him dead. The region had earlier witnessed clashes between Congress and BJD workers a day after voting for Lok Sabha and assembly polls on 17 April. IANS