Sambalpur, April 13: Defying ban, former BJP MLA Jaynarayan Mishra displayed sword fight during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in the presence of the police.

However, he has not been arrested till the time of filing the report.

Police here were on their toes throughout the day as the BJP-dominated Hanuman Jayanti Co-ordination Committee had threatened to defy the ban. Around 45 platoons of police had been deployed at strategic locations to prevent any untoward incident.

As a preventive measure, the police had detained four leaders of the committee and also arrested a BJP Mahila Morcha leader.

On Tuesday, the police had arrested four members of the committee. They were the committee president Prabhat Panda, former Sambalpur Municipality chairman Girish Patel, and committee members Kumar Agrawal and Kanha Sharma.

Notices have been issued to 70 persons to ensure that the procession remained peaceful.

Earlier in the day, sub-divisional police officer G. Mohanty said: "Forty-five platoons of police have been deployed across the city to avoid any untoward situation during the procession. Besides, more than 100 officers, including deputy police superintendents, inspectors and sub-inspectors, have been deployed to keep an eye on the situation."

Last year, the police had arrested former minister and BJP leader Jayanarayan Mishra for brandishing sword at three locations in the city during the procession. His arrest had led to a bandh in the city.