Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], July 4 (ANI): In the case of assault on Ratnakar Sahoo, Additional Commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan surrendered in the DCP office, Bhubaneswar, and subsequently was arrested by the police.

Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Odisha unit had suspended five of its members over their alleged involvement in the violence at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office, where Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo was assaulted on Monday.

Odisha BJP's media cell said the party's state unit chief Manmohan Samal has suspended five leaders - Corporator Aparup Narayan Raut, Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra, Debashish Pradhan, Sachikanth Swain and Sanjeev Mishra, from the primary membership of the BJP based on allegations related to the violence at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation office, yesterday.

Apart from this, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has strongly condemned the assault on its Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo by a group of individuals.

BMC Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil expressed shock over the incident and assured that strict action would be taken against those involved.

'The incident occurred while Mr Sahoo was attending to public grievances. We all condemn this ghastly act. An FIR was immediately lodged, and three people have been arrested. We have spoken to senior police officials and want stern action to be taken against the culprits. After this incident, we will certainly strengthen the security of our officers,' Patil told ANI.

As a mark of protest and solidarity with Sahoo, BMC officials wore black badges during the day. 'As an expression of solidarity with Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation officials are wearing black badges today to protest the incident,' Patil added.

Sahoo said that he was 'brutally attacked' by five-six people while he was in his office and that an FIR has been lodged.

'When I was addressing public grievances, suddenly, nearly 5-6 persons accompanied by a corporator named Jeevan arrived. He asked me if I had misbehaved with Jagga Bhai. To which, I said no. Suddenly, these people brutally attacked me. They dragged me and also tried to abduct me and take me to a vehicle. One of the corporators rescued me. The mayor came to my rescue. An FIR has been lodged in this case....I have faith in the law,' he told ANI.

An FIR has been registered at Bhubaneswar's Kharvelnagar Police Station regarding the incident, and six people have been arrested so far. (ANI)