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Updated: Jun 24, 2019 12:47 IST

The ruling Biju Janata Dal’s legislator Saroj Meher was arrested on Monday for allegedly making a tribal engineer of the Odisha government do sit-ups over public complaints of poor roads earlier this month, police said.

Patnagarh MLA Saroj Meher was detained earlier in the day about three weeks after he allegedly forced public works department engineer Jaykant Sabar to do sit-ups.

“He was arrested after sustained interrogation,” Bolangir’s superintendent of police K Siva Subramani said adding he was taken for a mandatory medical check-up.

The MLA was then brought to the court of additional district judge where the police will seek his remand for further interrogation. Meher is likely to move bail petition there.

Sabar was allegedly picked up by Meher’s followers from his residence on June 5 and then forced to do sit-ups on a road in Belpada area by the MLA as people complained of poor roads.

The government official apologised but the MLA insisted that he do sit-ups threatening him that the locals would beat him up if he refuses to follow through. The junior engineer then continued as people present on the spot kept watching.

“I am the MLA and this is my order. I am empowering the people to thrash you,” Meher was heard saying in a video clip of the incident that went viral.

The engineer was rescued by police from Nuapada district on June 6 following which his wife Prabina Rajhans lodged a case against the MLA under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

“Under the MLA’s orders, some villagers thrashed my husband. The MLA also hurled abuses and casteist remarks. My husband seems to have lost his mental balance,” Rajhans alleged.

The MLA had, however, ‘regretted’ the episode saying he did it to save the official from the mob lynching him.

“The situation could have turned violent. Whatever I did was to save myself and the engineer from the fury of the villagers,” he said.

The Bolangir District Tribal Welfare Association had threatened to gherao the Odisha assembly on June 26 demanding action against the legislator as there was no visible progress in the case.