Going by the instructions given by the Election Commissioner, the police Tuesday arrested BJP's Kandhamal candidate, Ashok Sahu, when he was addressing a public gathering in Phulbani. The arrest comes in reaction to Sahu's April 5 inflammatory speech at an election meeting at Raikia; an FIR was lodged against him on April 9.

Sahu, who ironically is an ex-police officer, was arrested for going against the established code of conduct by making hate speeches against Christians in Kandhamal district, which is considered a communally-susceptible area. According to the information provided by the Kandhamal Police Superintendent S Praveen Kumar, Sahu would be produced in a local court.

The police traced the divisive BJP candidate on Sunday night in Nayagarh district of Orissa, and surrounded the Phulbani hotel where he was staying; but could not arrest him for want of arrest warrant. By the wee-hours of Monday morning, Sahu had managed to flee. When he was questioned about his imminent arrest by NDTV on Sunday, Sahu had said that instead of surrendering to the police, he would prefer appealing to the court for bail.

As the police was taking Sahu away, hordes of BJP activists and Sahu's followers raised slogans in his support. Terming Sahu's arrest as "undemocratic" and "arbitrary," the BJP called it a "black day for democracy in Orissa."