Attack on Congress MLA;culprits to be booked soon - Naveen

Bhubaneswar, Mar 22 (UNI) Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today assured the state assembly that the culprits involved in attacking Champua MLA Dhanurjaya Sidu will be booked soon.

Replying to the admissibility of an adjournment motion brought by the Opposition and a calling attention by the Treasury Bench in the state Assembly, Mr Patnaik said the investigation of the case is in progress and the motive behind the attack is also probed.

He said Mr Sidu received four major and two minor injuries when the culprits fired at him close range on February 26 last while he was returning to his village at Serenda.

The MLA, the Chief Minister said, was shifted to TISCO hospital at Joda and then shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack by helicopter provided by the state government.

The Chief Minister said he had himself visited the hospital and directed that the entire expenditure of his treatment would be borne by the state government.

Responding to the Opposition allegation that the ruling party members were behind the attack, Mr Patnaik said the law will take its own course and the culprits would be punished.

The Chief Minister said extensive verification in the area had been undertaken to trace the witnesses and zero down the accused.

Large number of suspects, Mr Patnaik said, had been identified and being put to lie detection test by the experts, while verification both inside and outside the state had been taken up to identify the hired criminals involved in the incident.

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