A 48-year old BJP leader was allegedly thrashed to death in a case of road rage in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on Saturday night.
BJP leader Ranjit Pradhan was rushed to the Udala sub-divisional hospital, where he was declared brought dead by doctor.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Ranjit Pradhan, Balasore district in-charge of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP, was driving to his in-laws’ house at Nuasahi village when drawn into an altercation with three young men riding motorcycles near Kusumpur Chhak under Kaptipada police station area.
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“The three youths had an altercation with Pradhan over alleged lack of space to pass, following which they dragged him out of the car and punched him, leaving the victim critically injured. He was rushed to the Udala sub-divisional hospital, where he was declared brought dead by doctor,” said officer-in-charge of Kaptipada police station, Sanjay Pradhan. The three accused were later arrested and charged with murder.
The police officer said the three accused were well-built and quickly overpowered Pradhan and rained blows on him. “The constant thrashing led to internal bleeding in his head, chest and other internal organs as per the post-mortem report,” the police officer said.
Pradhan’s father-in-law Prafulla Patra said the incident took place some metres away from his house. “Three youths on two motorcycles asked him to give way to cross. Though he (Ranjit) gave them space to pass through, they hurled abuses at him. Later, they dragged him out of his car and attacked him,” he alleged.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
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