Assault on BMC official: Employees stage cease work, wear black-badge in protest

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office staff donned black badges on Tuesday and staged a cease work agitation, protesting the brutal attack on Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo, who was assaulted in his office on Monday. 

Six assailants barged into his workplace allegedly over a contentious phone call with a local BJP leader, dragging him by the collar and beating him severely—an incident that unfolded in full view of staff and stunned the civic body. 

In response to the attack, the employees and officers of the BMC staged a cease work wearing black in solidarity and demanding swift justice.

“The yesterday incident has hurt our staff and officers. It is a very unfortunate incident. We will take necessary steps to beef up security and strengthen office protocols,” said BMC Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil.

Asked about the malfunction of CCTV, Patil said, “We will investigate whether the cameras were functioning or not. If they were found not functioning, then we will ascertain why there was a malfunction.”

Meanwhile, three suspects have been arrested so far, though the police have launched a manhunt to apprehend all involved. 
Senior BJD leaders, including Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik, BMC Mayor Sulochana Das, have strongly condemned the violence and called for rigorous investigations.