: Former Berhampur mayor and BJP leader Siba Shankar Dash was arrested by city police in relation to an attempt to murder case pending against him.

Speaking to The Hindu , Berhampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Sarthak Sarangi confirmed that the former mayor had been arrested on Thursday night. Mr Dash is now lodged in Berhampur circle jail under judicial custody as the court rejected his bail petition. It may be noted that three others had been earlier arrested in relation to this case.

Mr Dash is accused to have conspired to murder the son of Alekh Choudhury, a BJD leader of Berhampur. Mr Dash was a BJD member while he was the city mayor.

Before the Assembly polls of 2014, he had defected to contest as the BJP candidate from Berhampur assembly seat. Mr Choudhury, who happened to be former Ganjam district president of the Congress, had also defected to the BJD before the Assembly elections.

On June 22, 2014 a car had allegedly followed Chetan Choudhury, the son of the BJD leader and hit him from the rear. According to police sources, information from interrogation of arrested driver of the car, Pradip Dalabehera and some other evidences had hinted that the former mayor and two of his associates were conspirators behind the case. These two associates of the former mayor had later surrendered in court. Mr Dash has past criminal record and some years before he became city mayor, he had been restrained under National Security Act (NSA).