BJD MLA from Keonjhar Sadar Subarna Naik was on Monday arrested for assaulting a female home guard on duty.
Mr Nayak was forwarded to jail after his bail petition was rejected by the local court.
On Sunday, the MLA had allegedly slapped home guard Babita Lenka, who was on duty near a polling booth in Keonjhar. Her “mistake” was that she opposed the MLA parking his vehicle on the middle of the road.
“The MLA slapped me repeatedly when I asked his driver not to park the vehicle on the road. He dragged me by my shirt and threatened that he would dismiss me from my job by complaining against me before the district superintendent of police,” Ms Lenka said in her first information report.
She alleged that the police was initially reluctant to lodge the complaint. However, after pressures from local social organisations it registered a case.