Irate Villagers Ransack Power Supply Office, Attack JE In Odisha’s Puri

Puri: A mob of around 15 people allegedly went on a rampage in the electricity supply office and attacked a junior engineer for delay in providing power connection to a consumer in Odisha’s Puri district on Friday.

According to sources, the local people of Pipili in the district, led by Sukant Bhatt went to the electricity office in the area and demanded to know why there was delay in providing power connection to the consumer. Even as the officials explained the reasons, they were not satisfied and resorted to violence.

The mob damaged the office furniture and attacked junior engineer Kalyan Sutradhar, who was present in the office. While the junior engineer was injured in the attack, the locals ransacked the place.

Following the incident, the officials filed a complaint at Pipili police station and staged a dharna in front of their office demanding immediate action against the accused. They threatened to disrupt the power supply to the entire area if their demand was not fulfilled.

Speaking to the media, SDO Bipin Sahu said, “When the agitated people came to the office at around 10.30 am, a few employees including junior engineer Kalyan Sutradhar and Rakesh Behera were present. The locals started beating up Sutradhar without any provocation. They also damaged the furniture and office materials. We have filed a police complaint in this regard.”

On the other hand, Bhatt refuted the allegation and said he had gone to the electricity supply office to enquire about the cause of delay in providing power connection to the consumer who had applied for it for more than six months.

“I had an argument with the junior engineer on the issue as he could not give any satisfying explanation for the unusual delay. But I have not attacked any employee of the office,” he said.