Odisha: Two more BJP workers held in OAS officer assault case

Bhubaneswar, July 1 (IANS) The Commissionerate Police on Tuesday arrested two more persons in connection with the case related to the assault on a senior Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Officer and Additional Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Ratnakar Sahoo inside the BMC premises by BJP workers allegedly linked to senior leader Jagannath Pradhan here on June 30.

The accused persons arrested on Tuesday were identified as Sanjeev Mishra of Jharpada area and Sachikant Swain of Laxmisagar area in Bhubaneswar.

The police had earlier arrested three persons- Aparupa Narayan Rout alias Jeevan, ⁠Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra and ⁠Debashis Pradhan- for their involvement in the incident on Monday evening.

The BJP on Tuesday suspended five of its workers from the primary membership of the party for their involvement in the case. The suspended party workers include Corporator Aparup Narayan Rout, Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra, Debashis Pradhan, Sachikant Swain and Sanjeev Mishra.

As per the complaint lodged by Sahoo, at around 11:30 am on Monday, when the public grievance redressal meeting was in progress in the presence of other officers, staff and general people at the BMC office, six to seven alleged BJP workers entered the premises unauthorisedly and assaulted Sahoo after enquiring about whether he had conversation with BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan over phone.

The incident triggered massive backlash after the video of the assault on Sahoo went viral.

On Monday, BJD corporators and staff members of the BMC staged a road blockade on the bustling Janpath Road of the city, demanding the immediate arrest of miscreants.

On Tuesday, the BMC staff continued their protest and ceased work wearing black badges. After the assault on Sahoo, a senior OAS officer, the Odisha Administrative Service Association (OASA) came out in support of Sahoo, announcing to go on mass leave from Tuesday.

However, the association deferred its protest call following discussions with Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, who assured stringent action against the culprits involved in the incident.

On the other hand, the OAS and ORS (Odisha Revenue Service) officers in eight districts in the state went on mass leave for an indefinite period in protest against the assault on the BMC additional Commissioner.

--IANS

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