Blackout During President Droupadi Murmu’s Speech In Odisha: University Suspects Sabotage

Bhubaneswar: Two days after the nine-minute blackout during President Droupadi Murmu’s speech at Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University (MSCBU) in Odisha’s Baripada, people are still wondering as to what went wrong.

While the incident triggered a variety of speculations in different circles, the MSCBU authorities strongly suspect that the blackout in the university auditorium during the convocation ceremony on Saturday was due to a sabotage.

MSCBU Vice Chancellor Santosh Tripathy was quoted by TOI as saying that soon after the lights went out, he rushed outside and found the electrician. On being asked as to what had happened, the electrician was unable to give a concrete reply and his answers were inconsistent, he said.

The electrician first stated that there was something wrong with the switch of the main electric panel (MCB) and later claimed that a loose wire was connected to the generators.

In case of a fault in MCB, it takes only a few seconds to fix. But the lights were out for nine minutes. The suspicion also deepens because only the lights went off while the air conditioner and the microphone were working, he said.

The university authorities are yet to ascertain as to how the power supply for the lights became normal. It is important to know as to  how it was restored, Tripathy said, adding that if darkness was caused deliberately, it must have been done by someone who knows about electrical fittings.

The university has also constituted a three-member committee to probe the whole episode. The probe panel is likely to submit the report by on Monday evening, sources said.

The president had just started addressing MSCBU’s 12th convocation ceremony when the lights in the auditorium went off. As the auditorium plunged into darkness for nine minutes, Murmu continued to deliver her speech.

Power supply from the generator should have been uninterrupted as several trial runs were held ahead of the event, sources said.