2 Arrested For Unleashing Terror & Assaulting Officials Of Nandankanan Zoo In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police have arrested two youth in connection with the alleged hooliganism at the office of the deputy director of Nandankanan Zoological Park, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, the previous evening.

The arrested have been identified as Prasant Pahad and Govind Sahu of Daruthenga village under Chandaka Tehsil of Khurda.

According to police sources, Prasant had an altercation with a zoo staffer over a trivial matter on Monday. Later in the evening, he returned with Govind and stormed into the office of the deputy director, brandishing sharp weapons. They unleashed terror in the office and even manhandled biologist Dr Rajesh Mahapatra, assistant conservators of forests (ACFs) Sudipta Kumar Panda and Dr Rashmi Ranjan Swain and Ashutosh Campa, audit officer in Forest, Environment and Climate Change department. They punched and slapped some officials and went on a rampage, smashing computers, laptops, printers, TV and furniture. They even attempted to barge into the zoo hospital by breaking its door.

They were reportedly in an inebriated state and the entire incident was captured in the CCTV camera installed in the office.

The duo was arrested around 1 am on the basis of the CCTV footage and the complaint lodged by the zoo officials, the sources added.

Police were earlier accused of standing outside the zoo office as mute spectators. When the miscreants left on their motorcycle, the PCR vehicle personnel, who were already present there, neither attempted to nab or chase them. “The zoo was closed on Monday and the reason behind the miscreants going there and attacking the officials is still unclear. Zone VI ACP is monitoring the investigation and all efforts are being made to nab them,” Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh had then told the media.