A panchayat member who was allegedly abducted by some unidentified miscreants from Binjharpur area in Jajpur district last week returned home safely on, the police said on Thursday.
Dhaneswar Sethy, a ward member of Ranapur gram panchayat, went missing near Binjharpur bazar while returning home on October 1.
His family members started a frantic search to trace him, but were unsuccessful.
Later, they filed a complaint with the police that some unidentified miscreants kidnapped him to prevent him from voting in the no-confidence motion against the local Sarpanch which was scheduled on October 8.
The block development officer (BDO) of Binjharpur postponed the no-confidence vote following the abduction of Sethi, an official said.
Sethi's disappearance a few days before the scheduled no-trust vote had triggered widespread discontentment among a group of ward members, as he had earlier expressed his support to the motion.
Based on the complaint, the police initiated a probe but failed to trace Sethi. -- PTI