Man in saree attacks minister in Odisha

Senior BJD leader and state Panchayati Raj minister Maheswar Mohanty who had sustained serious head injuries in a murderous attack in a village in his home district of Puri on Monday night has been admitted to a private hospital here.

The incident occurred  when Mohanty was campaigning for his party for the ensuing panchayat elections in the state. “His condition is stable but we have kept him under observation”, doctors treating the senior minister said on Tuesday. He had to be administered seven stitches on his head to close the cut. Meanwhile, police have  arrested two people in connection to the incident including one Balabhadra Bhoi. Bhoi, who was wearing a saree and posing himself as a woman, attacked the minister with an iron rod.  The cause behind the attack is not yet known.

“The minister was addressing a gathering of villagers and party workers when the man wearing a saree came through the row where women party workers were sitting and attacked him with a sharp iron rod”, said a BJD worker.