BJD leaders accused of manhandling BDO for not ‘passing bill’, FIR lodged

The Kujang Block Development Officer (BDO) was allegedly assaulted by the block chairman and his supporters during a public meeting in Jagatsinghpur. The matter came to the fore after the BDO Deepak Prasad Swain lodged a written complaint in this connection.

As per sources, a public meeting was organised at the Kujang block office. An altercation broke out between the BDO and the block chairman after the latter accused him of not passing the bills. Things took an ugly turn after the block chairman along with BJD workers and other people’s representatives manhandled the BDO and scolded him using filthy language.

The situation further escalated after BJP workers present at the block office came to the BDO’s aide, leading to a clash between the BJD and BJP supporters. Both the parties have filed two separate cases against each other.

“There was a public meeting. I do not know why they manhandled me. I have lodged a complaint with the police. The probe is on. I request police to take necessary action as per law,” said Deepak Prasad Swain, Kujang BDO.

“We rushed to the spot after hearing screams and shouts. When we entered the room, we saw them attacking BDO and misbehaving with him. Most of them are BJD supporters including the Sarpanch and samiti members. Shockingly, the chairman, vice-chairman and zilla parishads were also present at the scene,” alleged Akshay Kumar Das, BJP leader, Kujang.