India, July 3 -- In a dramatic escalation of events that have roiled Odisha's political landscape, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jagannath Pradhan was arrested late Thursday evening in connection with the alleged assault on Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahu amid ceasework and intense protests by the Odisha Administrative Service Association and mounting pressure from opposition parties.

Pradhan, member of BJP state executive and a defeated candidate in the 2024 Assembly elections from Bhubaneswar Central, arrived at the office of deputy commissioner of police in Bhubaneswar Thursday evening and surrendered before the police. "I have come here to cooperate with the investigation," he stated, adding, "...