BJD MP Mahtab faces charges for assaulting cop 13 years ago

Cuttack: A special court in Cuttack has framed charges against BJD Lok Sabha member Bhartruhari Mahtab under IPC Section 353 for assaulting a police officer on duty 13 years back.“The court of judicial magistrate first class Deepankar Bal, dealing with cases against MPs and MLAs, framed the charges against Mahtab on Thursday and posted the case for trial from April 5,” assistant public prosecutor Afroz Ahmed told TOI.“The charge against the Cuttack MP was framed under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 506 (criminal intimidation),” Ahmed said. The charges were framed on the basis of a chargesheet submitted after investigation on a complaint lodged by sub-inspector Amitabh Mohapatra (now assistant commissioner of police) that Mahtab had assaulted him during a function on January 23, 2011.The function to celebrate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversay at his birthplace at Cuttack was attended by chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The incident took place just after Patnaik arrived inside the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Birthplace Museum Complex to inaugurate a special programme commemorating Netaji's 114th birth anniversary. Mahtab followed the chief minister into the complex. However, when his supporters were not allowed inside by the police, he returned to the gate and allegedly assaulted sub-inspector Amitabh Mohapatra, who was on duty. Mohapatra had lodged a complaint at Dargha Bazar police station the same day. Mahtab said: “It is a court matter.”Mahtab was elected as BJD candidate from Cuttack parliamentary constituency for six consecutive times. The framing of charges against him has come at a time when he was hopeful of getting renominated as the BJD candidate from the seat in the ensuing elections. With the trial set to start on April 5, the case is likely to cloud his chances of getting the party ticket this time. Mahtab, the son of former Odisha chief minister Harekrushna Mahtab, is also the editor of a Odia daily. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 from Cuttack. He was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014. He retained the seat for BJD in 2019 by defeating Prakash Mishra of BJP.

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