Odisha BJP Leader Itish Pradhan, 2 Aides Arrested For Extortion In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Itish Pradhan, former state NSUI president who is currently with BJP, along with Arpana Mishra and Biplab Parida was on Monday arrested by Saheed Nagar Police on extortion charges.

They were arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by one Saroj Kumar Mishra. The trio had allegedly made a call to him on the night of November 9, identified themselves as cops and asked him to report at Saheed Nagar police station. Mishra immediately left for the police station, but was waylaid by Itish and his associates, who then attacked him with sharp weapons and broken glass bottles, leaving him seriously injured, a police release said.

The investigation revealed that the attack was the fallout of a 5-day-old dispute when Mishra had refused to pay them dada bati (extortion money). “During interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime. Their criminal antecedents were also verified and it was found that five cases each are pending against Itish and Biplab,” it added.

Ahead of the 2024 elections, Itish and Biplap, former vice-president of Odisha Chhatra Congress, had switched sides to BJP on January 30.