By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : A day after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jual Oram’s house in a Orissa village was attacked by masked gunmen, he said that the attackers could be Maoist rebels and that he feared for his life.
Authorities Monday beefed security around Oram. But the police claimed the assailants were dacoits.
“Security has been beefed around me,” Oram told IANS over phone, adding that dozens of armed policemen were deployed at his house.
Oram is a Member of Parliament and one of the national vice-presidents of the BJP.
Over a dozen men carrying guns barged into his parental home in Kendudihi village in Sundergarh district, some 350 km from here, around 8 p.m. Sunday and terrorised his family members for nearly half an hour, the police said.
They also fired several rounds in the air and escaped in a Bolero vehicle when hundreds of villagers rushed to the spot, the police said.
The police suspect the involvement of a gang of dacoits based in neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh was involved.
“We suspect the involvement of a gang of dacoits based in Chhattisgarh and we have already alerted the respective governments,” a senior district police official told IANS.
But Oram on his arrival at the house Monday said the attackers could be Maoists and he feared a threat to his life.
“There was a marriage celebration in the village and the rebels came with the firm believe that I will be there,” he told IANS.
“They could be Maoist cadres. They, I believe, had come to attack me,” Oram said . He added he is writing letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for more security.