Cops arrest man for threatening Cong neta Jena
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Bhubaneswar: Capital police on Tuesday arrested a man for allegedly issuing a death threat over phone to senior Congress member Jayadev Jena and attempting to extort Rs 50,000 from him in Feb.
The accused, Kulamani Senapati alias Somanath (45), belongs to Keonjhar, Jena's home district.
Jena (74), who served as a minister and president of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, filed a police complaint on Feb 3. He reported receiving threatening calls from an unidentified person who demanded money and threatened to kill him if it wasn't paid.
Given Jena's political standing, police personnel treated the case with high priority.
According to Jena's statement, the caller initially expressed displeasure about his television appearance regarding a political matter before issuing death threats.
"During investigation, we found that Somanath, who works as a part-time car driver, destroyed both his phone and SIM card after making the call," said a senior police officer.
Police said Somanath had no prior conflicts with Jena nor any political affiliation. "The accused's sole motive was financial gain. He was previously booked in an assault case under Nandipada police station limits," the police officer said.
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