BMC Additional Commissioner Dragged, Assaulted In Bhubaneswar Office: BJP Leader’s Name Surfaces In Case

Bhubaneswar: A shocking incident of violence occurred at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office in Odisha on Monday, wherein a senior official was kicked, dragged and badly assaulted by a group of people at his office. According to reports, the Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahu was battered and bruised by a group of young men, allegedly accompanied by local Corporator Jeevan Raut. As per allegations, Raut, accompanied by a group of men, stormed into Sahu's office and physically assaulted him over claims that he had misbehaved with senior BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan, who was an MLA candidate in the 2024 Odisha Assembly elections.

The attack occurred while a grievance hearing session was underway, and Additional Commissioner Sahu was attending to his official duties. The assailants, reportedly enraged over the alleged misbehaviour, dragged the BMC official out of his chamber and thrashed him mercilessly. A video footage of the incident is going viral on social media, reportedly capturing the incident, wherein the official was being beaten by a group of men, leaving him injured.

The people described the shocking incident, saying that Sahu was being grabbed by his shirt collar and dragged out of the office in full view of the public and staff members.

BMC Official Account Of Incident

Following the incident, BMC official Sahu stated that the incident occurred when a group of five persons entered his office during a grievance hearing session. "I was present at the grievance hearing session, and it was about to end when around five people entered the room," Sahu narrated to mediapersons. "There were less number of grievances today. Initially, I thought that they perhaps had some grievances. Our corporator, Jiban Babu, was also present there. He asked me 'Sir, did you tell anything to Jaga Bhai? Did you misbehave him?' I replied to him ‘No, I did not misbehave with anyone’," he further said.

The BMC official alleged that those people then started manhandling him and dragging him out of the office. "All of a sudden, they started manhandling me and dragging me and did this to me," he stated, adding that he cannot say more as he didn't recognise those persons. 

Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also condemned the incident and has asked Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to take strict action against those involved in the case. 

Meanwhile, on the complaint of the official, an FIR has been registered at the Kharvel Nagar Police Station. The police have arrested three people, identified as Jeevan Rout, Rashmi Mahapatra, and Debashis Pradhan. 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jagmohan Meena confirmed the arrest, saying that further investigation is in process and the involvement of other persons is being ascertained.

BMC Employees Stage Protest

Meanwhile, following the incident, a heavy police deployment has been ensured at the BMC premises to restore order and prevent any further disruption. Senior officials have condemned the act and are likely to initiate a probe to identify and take action against those involved. 

The police officials from Kharavela Nagar Police reached the BMC office after receiving the complaint and launched an investigation into the alleged assault. The police are reportedly verifying the footage of the CCTV cameras installed in and around the BMC office to identify the accused persons and take action against them.

The incident has also triggered outrage among civic officials, with hundreds of BMC employees staging a sit-in protest in front of the main entrance, demanding safety in government offices and action against the wrongdoers.

They also declared a work boycott, protesting the lack of safety measures for officials and employees. The employees expressed their outrage over the attack, questioning how an on-duty senior official could be assaulted in broad daylight. The deployment of police personnel and the initiation of a probe are expected to bring the perpetrators to justice, but the incident has raised serious questions about the safety and security of government officials.

BMC Mayor Sulochana Das strongly condemned the assault on Ratnakar Sahu, questioning the collapse of law and order in the state. "How can an on-duty senior official be attacked?" Das asked, expressing her outrage over the incident. "This incident shows that the law and order have collapsed in the state," she added.