Dabugaon MLA Bhujabala Majhi and former MP Pradeep Majhi were among nine senior Congress leaders, who were taken into custody and detained by police for around eight hours in Nabarangpur district of Odisha on Thursday.
The Congress leaders were holding dharna in Nabarangpur town since October 28 with the body of Bogo Paika (30), a peasant who had allegedly committed suicide due to crop loss and debt burden.
Congress leaders were demanding the state government to provide 10 lakh rupees compensation to family members of the deceased as well as Nabarangpur district to be declared drought-hit.
Speaking to The Hindu , former MP of Nabarangpur Mr Manjhi said at around 5am a police team reached the spot of their dharna and forcefully took away the body of Paika, which was immediately cremated.
The senior Congress leaders continuing dharna at the spot were rounded up and detained in a house near Nabarangpur police station. They were not arrested. Apart from the MLA Mr Bhujabala and Mr Manjhi, the other Congress leaders detained by police included former MLA Sadan Nayak, secretary of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Hasan Khan and PCC member Muna Tripathy etc.
The detained group of Congress leaders were released by police at around 2.30 pm.
“We will continue with our democratic agitation for the two demands and our future course of action would be decided when AICC observer for Odisha B.K. Hariprasad would visit Nabarangpur in few days,” said Mr Pradeep Manjhi.
The deceased farmer hailed from Podalguda under Nandahandi block of Nabarangpur district.
He had taken loan for cultivation but had incurred heavy crop loss due to lack of rainfall this year. It was suspected that this had prompted him to take the extreme step.
