Odisha Congress workers attacked before meeting

 A group of men attacked and injured three Congress workers in front of a party office in Puri on Monday, in which senior leaders including AICC general secretary and Odisha in-charge Jitendra Singh were present.

One person was detained in connection with the attack and the injured were taken to hospital, police said. Senior party leaders were divided over the identity of the attackers. While a section of them claimed the incident was the result of a factional feud, others said outsiders are involved in it.

Alok Das, Asutosh Mishra and Swapnajit Rai of the Congress' student wing were injured after they were attacked with iron rods in front of the party office before the beginning of a meeting. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik who was present at the party office said stern action would be taken if it is found to be an intra-party clash.

The matter would be investigated by the disciplinary committee of the party, he said. However, several other leaders said the attack was the handiwork of outsiders. Following the incident, senior leaders cut short their visit to the pilgrim town and returned to Bhubaneswar much before the scheduled time, sources said.