BERHAMPUR: A couple, who unsuccessfully contested the recently-concluded urban local body (ULB) polls, was allegedly attacked by a group of miscreants in Ganjam’s Gosaninuagaon in the wee hours on Sunday.
Unidentified miscreants broke into the house of Biren Patnaik and his wife Sasmita Das in BRIT Colony within Gosaninuagaon police limits at around 3 am and abused the couple. They even pelted stones before vandalising Biren’s two-wheeler parked on the house premises.
Biren contested for the corporator post from Ward no 12 as an Independent candidate while his wife fought for the same post in Ward no 14 as a BJP nominee. The couple lost the elections, results of which were declared on Saturday.
Sources said Biren had won the 2013 ULB polls on BJD ticket and was a corporator. But this time, he was denied ticket by the ruling party following which he fought the polls as an Independent.
Biren alleged that he had received threats to withdraw his nomination before the elections. But he did not pay any heed. “We were sleeping in the first floor when stones were hurled at our house. I went to the balcony and saw around 10-12 youths vandalising my bike. The miscreants also abused me,” he alleged.
Biren managed to record the incident on his mobile phone and posted the video clip on social media seeking protection. Later, Gosaninuagaon police reached the couple’s house and started investigation.
Though police refused to divulge any details, sources said four persons hailing from influential families and a four-wheeler have been detained in Gosaninuagaon police station.
In a similar incident on Saturday, unidentified miscreants had vandalised the car of a losing candidate of BJP at Engineering School Road within Baidyanathpur police limits.
Earlier this month, a couple in Bhadrak district had committed suicide unable to bear the humiliation of defeat in the panchayat elections.