Pharmacist Suspended For Clicking Selfie With President’s Chopper In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The pharmacist, who courted controversy for posting selfies with the chopper of President Droupadi Murmu during her recent visit to Odisha, has been suspended.

He has been identified as Jaswant Behera. He was on duty near Chheligodhuli helipad near Jashipur, where Murmu’s chopper had landed when she visited Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Mayurbhanj district last Friday. It was here that he clicked some selfied and also posted them on his Facebook. This was seen as a serious lapse in the security of the President.

Following which, Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Mayurbhanj, Rupabhanu Mishra suspended Behera.

The selfie issue came to the fore amid the 9-minute power outage fiasco at Odisha’s Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University. The snag took place barely a few minutes into President’s speech, but she continued as the mike system at the venue was unaffected. It lasted from 11.56 am to 12.05 pm.

While security experts had questioned as to why Murmu was not whisked away to a safer place during the power outage at the university, BJP alleged that it was an attempt to sabotage President’s programme.