Dhenkanal: Police have arrested three persons of a family for the alleged attack on enumerators during census exercise in Kamakhyanagar area of Odisha’s Dhenkanal district.
The accused are Nikunja Satpathy (65), a retired bank officer, and his sons Udit Swapna Satpathy (36) and Bhanu Satpathy (32).
According to sources, the trio allegedly abused and assaulted census staff Madhusmita Behera, Swarnaprabha Sahu, Satish Behera and Raghunath Dikhit, engaged in household data collection at Mahima Nagar in ward no 3 of Kamakhyanagar NAC, with blows and sticks without any provocation when the
y entered their house at around 9 am on Wednesday. The accused chased them as the staff members ran out of the house and pelted them with stones. They also vandalised the scooter of one of the victims and snatched their mobile phones.
“The family had stopped the census staff from numbering the house and collecting data two days ago. So, I along with three others arrived here to explain and get the work done. They charged at us when we entered through the main gate and also damaged my vehicle,” Madhusmita Behera earlier told the media.
On being informed, a police team along with sub-collector Dinabandhu Naik, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Rajanikanta Samal and IIC Jitendra Mallick reached the spot. The accused, however, continued to behave aggressively and use abusive language.
Dikhit later lodged a complaint with Kamakhyanagar police on the basis of which a case was registered and the three were arrested. They were later produced in court and remanded in judicial custody.