Rourkela Police Obtain Non-Bailable Warrant Against Suspended BJP Leader Prakash Paswan

ROURKELA: Rourkela police on Tuesday obtained a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against suspended BJP leader Prakash Paswan over his alleged involvement in the Circuit House controversy. DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai said the Panposh SDJM court issued the NBW against Paswan on the day. Additionally, four police teams are on the lookout for him in Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Paswan is the alleged mastermind in harbouring criminals and providing them safe haven on the government-managed Circuit House at Panposh using his political clout. The 35-year-old was Union Tribal Affairs Minister and Sundargarh BJP MP Jual Oram’s representative to the Rourkela Municipal Corporation, a fact the veteran leader has admitted. Police said Paswan was a known history-sheeter with 17 criminal cases against him. But such was his clout that he was allotted a flat by the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) for running his NGO. He had also illegally constructed an office structure at another place. On Monday, police and Rourkela forest division authorities had inspected the office of Paswan along the foothills of Durgapur. It is being alleged that Paswan had taken the land on the pretext of setting up a community centre, but illegally constructed a structure for office use. Rourkela DFO Ravi Meena said an inquiry has been initiated to ascertain if the land was allotted or encroached. The DIG said police are also weighing the option to dismantle Paswan’s office if found illegal.