Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Association on Thursday announced that its agitation will continue until demands including the arrest of BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan in the BMC officer assault case, are met by the state government.
After holding a meeting on the issue, the association gave a three-day ultimatum to the state government for the arrest of Jagannath Pradhan, accusing him of being the prime accused in attack on Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo on Monday.
While OAS officers will continue to discharge their duties in flood-affected areas and during the Rath Yatra festival, the association expects swift action from the government. The association will continue its agitation until concrete action is taken, its leaders told reporters.
Stressing that they trust Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, they thanked him for the immediate arrest of the accused. “However, we demand exemplary action against the main accused. The investigation should not drag on for months. It must be completed within three days,” they said.
The association has made three specific demands – immediate arrest of Jagannath Pradhan, safety and security for all OAS officers, and public condemnation of the incident by the state government.
The association warned that failure to act within the set timeframe would force its members to intensify their agitation.
Notably, Ratnakar Sahoo was brutally assaulted by a group of miscreants inside the BMC headquarters during a grievance redressal meeting.
Condemning the attack, the OAS Association had passed a unanimous resolution seeking exemplary punishment for the culprits and demanded enhanced security measures for government officers at their workplaces.
Based on the complaint lodged by Sahoo, a senior OAS officer, the police have so far arrested five accused in the case.
