Ink Attack On Odisha’s 5T Secretary Was To Raise Local Problems, Says Bhaskar Sahoo After Being Released

Puri/ Bhubaneswar: A day after throwing ink at Odisha’s 5T Secretary V K Pandian, a man from Satyabadi area of Puri district said the action was aimed at highlighting several problems of the area and there was no political motive behind it.

Bhaskar Sahoo, who was detained by the police soon after the incident on Saturday and later released, told media that people have the right to raise issues in a democratic set up, though the method he used was probably incorrect.

Expressing regret over the incident, the man said he was repentant. However, no political force was behind the move, he said, adding that what he did was the outcome of his own decision and the incident should not be politicised.

Sources said that Sahoo, who hails from Haripur village in Satyabadi area, was picked up by teh police after the incident on Saturday. He was quizzed by a police team and was released later.

Stating that his protest was over several problems in the area including Daya river protection, waste water from Bhubaneswar, Sahoo said he had submitted several representations to the authorities earlier, but no step was taken for resolving the issues. He thought that by resorting to such method he would be able to draw the attention of the authorities.

It may be noted here that Pandian, who was on a two-day visit to Puri, was thrown ink at while attending an event at UGS College at Satyabadi on Saturday. Some portion of the ink also fell on Puri Collector Samarth Verma, who was accompanying the 5T secretary, sources said.

The 5T Secretary, who is undertaking tours across Odisha on the direction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to hear grievances of the people, had earlier faced black flag protests. The district administrations had then taken preventive steps to check such unsavoury incidents.

Notably, these trips by Pandian have assumed political significance with the state going to polls in 2024.