Bhubaneswar: Situations are turning uglier day by day for Smart City Bhubaneswar Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena who has been in the eye of storm for a week now following sex video expose in the media.
In the video, a man resembling the Mayor’s face is seen spending intimate moments with a woman and the opposition parties allege that the man in the video is none other than the Mayor Mr Jena, the allegation which the Mayor has dismissed a “baseless.”
The opposition BJP and Congress leaders have linked the controversial death of engineering student Ashutosh Mohanty alias Rishi to the sex video. They said since Rishi was in possession with the sex video clip, he was on May 6, 2016 systematically eliminated by the henchmen of the Mayor who forcibly administered contraband drugs to him to ensure his death.
Adding to the woes of the Mayor, three friends of Rishi on Sunday told the police that they suspected some foul play in the death of their friend.
On Saturday, the police had recorded the statement of three other friends of Rishi under section 161 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in presence of the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Satyabrata Bhoi who also alleged that Rishi died under mysterious circumstances.
Speaking to reporters here, DCP Mr Bhoi said the three friends in their statement admitted that the sex video CD has a close link to the death of Rishi. They also informed that the sex video CD was prepared by Rishi’s girlfriend and the circumstances under which the CD was prepared.
“The statement of the friends of Rishi is a sensitive matter. The police has collected vital information from these three friends. We will examine their statement and take up our investigation accordingly,” the DCP added. Though he refused to divulge details regarding the statement of these three friends, he, however, said protection would be given to them if they want. The Congress and BJP on Sunday threatened that they would not relent from their protest rallies until the Mayor resigns from his post.
