Odisha government officials take 'mass leave' after bureaucrat brutally assaulted
What's the story
Senior officials of the Odisha government have been on mass leave for two days in over 20 districts. The protest was triggered by an alleged assault on Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo. The incident occurred on Monday when Sahoo was dragged out of his office and assaulted by a group of miscreants, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Aparaup Narayan Rout.
Arrests made
BJP leader among 5 arrested in connection with incident
The attackers barged into Sahoo's chamber when a public hearing was underway and grabbed him by his collar and assaulted him. He was accused of misbehaving with "Jag bhai," an alleged reference to BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan. The police have arrested five people in connection with the incident. The arrested include Rout and four others—Sanjeev Mishra, Sachikanta Swain, Rashmi Mahapatra, and Debasish Pradhan. The Odisha BJP has also suspended these members from the party over their involvement in the attack.
Incident
CM had assured action
The protests by Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) and Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) employees have disrupted work in government offices. OAS officials had announced the mass leave beginning on Tuesday, but they postponed it after assurances from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. In spite of the assurances, OAS and ORS officers' districts, including Cuttack, Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Sonepur, Rayagada, Dhenkanal, and Mayurbhanj, went on 'mass leave.'
Protest demands
OAS Association's demands to Chief Minister
The OAS Association has made three 'non-negotiable' demands to the Chief Minister, including the immediate arrest of BJP leader Pradhan. They also demanded security for all field-level executive officers and a public condemnation of the incident by the state government. The association submitted a memorandum to Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, naming Pradhan as the "prime accused and kingpin" behind Sahoo's assault.
Security review
BMC reviews security arrangements; CM calls meeting
In the wake of the incident, a meeting was held at the BMC office to review security arrangements. BMC Mayor Sulochana Das said armed security personnel would be deployed if needed and dysfunctional CCTV cameras will soon be made operational. Chief Minister Majhi has called a meeting to resolve the deadlock in government offices due to the mass leave protest.