Police released Bhaskar Sahu, who had thrown ink at V.K. Pandian, the private secretary to chief minister Naveen Patnaik, on Saturday at Sakhigopal in Puri district while he was on way to attend a meeting.

Sahu was whisked away from the spot after he threw ink on Pandian. Police quizzed Sahu and later released him late Saturday night on the personal guarantee of his elder brother.

Sources said it was Pandian who asked the police to release Sahu.

After the release, Sahu, 38, said: “It's not the right way to protest. I wanted to raise several problems faced by people in my area including protection from the flood water of Daya river and wastewater, which is being released from Bhubaneswar to our area. Earlier, I had also raised the issue with the local MLA. Though I had submitted several petitions, no step was taken to address the issue. I will not beg for an apology.”

However, elder brother Dhabaleswar Sahu apologised for the conduct of his younger brother. “We are extremely sorry for the conduct of my brother. I must thank the police for safely evacuating my younger brother from the meeting place and later releasing him.”