Ready to leave Odisha, says expelled BJD leader Pradeep Panigrahy

BERHAMPUR:  Expelled BJD leader and Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahy on Thursday pleaded the State government not to implicate him in false cases and said he is ready to leave Odisha. Panigrahy made the plea while being produced in a local court here on Thursday. Amid tight security, the MLA along with tainted IFS officer Abhaykant Pathak and his son Akash was produced in the SDJM court in connection with the cases lodged against them for cheating gullible youths by assuring them jobs in Tata Motors.

Before leaving the court premises, Panigrahy alleged that false cases have been registered against him. “I was in active politics since last two decades and served the people of Gopalpur. Now when the second wave of Covid-19 is spreading fast, I am unable to meet my people,” he said.

In jail since more than last four months, the MLA said fraud cases were slapped against him in phases but not at once. “If I committed the crime, why did police register cases against me over a period of time. Our democracy is in danger. When a legislator is put in jail without any concrete evidence, what about the general public?” he said. Panigrahy further said, he is fed up with the injustice and want to live peacefully outside Odisha.