Bhubaneswar: Escalating their protest against brutal assault on Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo, OAS and ORS officers in eight districts of Odisha on Tuesday decided to go on an indefinite mass leave.
These districts are Cuttack, Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Rayagada, Balangir, Sonepur, and Ganjam.
This came a day after the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Association decided to defer their mass leave agitation after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi assured strict action against those involved in the incident.
Speaking to the media, Cuttack ADM Shiba Toppo said: “Though the government has assured stringent action, we can hardly see anything on the ground. Accordingly a meeting of the association members was held in all districts and also in Cuttack. Following which, an unanimous decision in this regard was taken. We will remain on leave until exemplary action is taken and our safety is guaranteed.”
The officers in other districts also mentioned recent attacks on Tehsildars.
Earlier in the day, BMC office staff wore black badges and staged a cease work agitation, demanding swift justice. “Yesterday’s incident has hurt our staff and officers. We will take necessary steps to beef up security and strengthen office protocols,” said BMC Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil.
On Tuesday, the BMC staff staged a day-long dharna at the corporation office, demanding immediate action against the culprits. The staff and corporators also blocked the Janpath road in the evening.
Later, the CM met the members of the association for almost an hour at 11 pm, and assured that the culprits and the perpetrators behind the scene, however powerful they may be, will be strictly punished. “Hence, in reverence to the CM’s appeal, the mass leave tomorrow is not called off, but rather is hereby postponed. However, the state association requests that all district associations and members of the fraternity meet tomorrow and condemn the incident, along with sending a copy of the resolution to the state association. Further course of action shall be intimated by the State Association,” it said.
Sahoo was allegedly dragged from his office and assaulted in full public view by some alleged supporters and workers of a local BJP leader, Jagannath Pradhan. Police arrested three persons, including BJP corporator Jeevan Rout, on the basis of a complaint lodged by the OAS officer.
Meanwhile, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal has suspended five party members – corporator Aparup Narayan Rout aka Jeevan Rout, Rashi Ranjan Mahapatra, Debasish Pradhan, Sachikant Swain and Sanjeev Mishra – from primary membership of the party for their alleged involvement in the incident.
