BEO & Sarpanch Injured In BJD-BJP Clash In Odisha’s Balasore

Balasore: A block education officer (BEO) and a sarpanch were seriously injured in a violent clash between the workers of BJD and BJP over transfer of a headmaster in Odisha’s Balasore district on Monday.

According to sources, around 300 students of Class I to X of Bhikaricharan Nodal School at Tentei under Soro block in the district locked up the school and staged a dharna in front of the main gate demanding cancellation of the transfer of their headmaster in the morning.

On getting the information about it, local sarpanch Laxmikant Mallik went to the school and interacted with the students. Later, he went to the office of BDO to take up the matter during the hearing of public grievances by the officer. But, by the time Mallik reached there, the meeting was over and the BDO had left the office.

The sarpanch then went to the BEO and submitted his application to stop the transfer of the headmaster as per the demand of the school students.

Meanwhile, a group of BJD workers arrived there and were engaged in argument with sarpanch as they wanted the transfer of the headmaster as per the official order. The BJD workers were countered by BJP activists and a group clash ensued with both groups attacking each other.

As Soro BEO intervened and tried to stop the group clash, he was also attacked. As a result, both the BEO and the sarpanch sustained injuries on head and were rushed to hospital at Soro.

While no police complaint has been filed by anybody in this regard, the students of the school and their parents have said they would continue their agitation till the transfer order of the headmaster is not withdrawn.