Berhampur, May 22: Berhampur Town Police on Thursday arrested two more accused in connection with the brutal assault on Umesh Rath at Giri Road, taking the total number of arrests in the case to four. The arrested accused have been identified as Ashish Sahu and Dinesh Kumar Panda.

Police also seized two scooters, two motorcycles, a mobile phone and a bamboo stick allegedly used in the crime.

Earlier on Wednesday, police had arrested two other accused — Lingaraj Samal of Sriram Nagar and Raj Malhotra from the Baidyanathpur police limits. Meanwhile, prime accused Mukesh Sahu was injured in a late-night police encounter and is currently undergoing treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.

According to reports, the incident took place on the night of May 18 when Umesh Rath was allegedly attacked in the middle of the road by Mukesh and his associates over previous enmity. Rath’s female friend, who was present at the spot, was also injured while trying to rescue him.

The incident triggered massive outrage across the state after videos of the public assault went viral on social media. The case also snowballed into a political issue, drawing sharp reactions from various quarters.