‘Nobody is safe here’: BMC Mayor Sulochana Das on senior officer’s assault; Naveen Patnaik urges CM Mohan Majhi to act

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) workers protesting against the reported assault of a senior Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation officer, Ratnakar Sahoo, were detained by the police on Monday.

Sahoo is an OAS Additional Commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation. He was allegedly dragged from his office and brutally kicked and assaulted in front of a BJP Corporator, allegedly linked to a defeated BJP MLA Candidate.

Mayor Sulochana Das, who was also detained while protesting against the assault, claimed that nobody is safe in Odisha.

“Nobody is safe here. A government officer was dragged out of his office by 5-6 men. He was assaulted, and there was an attempt to abduct him,” she said, adding that an attempt to murder case should be filed against the accused.

“We had filed an FIR, but only three people have been arrested. All accused should be arrested,” she added.

‘If a senior officer is not safe in his own office, then…’: Naveen Patnaik

In a lengthy Twitter post, former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “What is more appalling is that this happened in broad daylight, in the heart of the capital city- Bhubaneswar, to a senior officer while he was in his office, hearing grievances of people.”

“Utterly shocked” by the “brutal kicking and assault” of the senior official, Patnaik called upon current CM Mohan Charan Majhi to take immediate and exemplary action against the guilty, including “political leaders who orchestrated and conspired this shameful attack”.

Naveen Patnaik said the people named by the officer in his FIR have behaved like criminals. “If a senior officer is not safe in his own office, then what law and order will ordinary citizens expect from the Government.”

“I only hope that Shri Majhi directs immediate action to be taken to restore faith in his government and not allow this heinous act to go unpunished like the assault on an officer by the ex-Governor’s son. The people of #Odisha will not forgive this,” he added.

DCP Headquarters, Prakash Chandra Pal, said that action will be taken against those who are involved in this incident.

“All those involved will be arrested… Two teams have been formed and are investigating,” he said.

BJD leaders react

BJD leader Ashok Panda called it a “barbaric act,” and said that the incident is a complete failure of law and order.

“This city has always promoted peace and non-violence. Right under the nose of the CM, who is also the Home Minister, goons have ransacked the BMC office and brutally assaulted an Odisha Administrative Services officer,” he said.

Condemning the act, Panda said, “When the officers are not safe, then what about the common man? This is a failure like the Puri car festival of the present government. The main conspirator should be arrested.”

BJD MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo also slammed the state government over the incident, and said the senior officer was beaten brutally by the BJP miscreants at the behest of some senior leaders.

“If such things happen at the state secretariat, this means there is no law and order situation in the state, and the situation is deteriorating by the day due to the patronage of this government,” he said.

He also added that over the last year, miscreants have targeted common people and the opposition workers. “The conspirators must be arrested,” he said.