Bhubaneswar: Begunia BJD MLA Prashant Jagdev landed in a soup for third time this year for allegedly assaulting Bolagarh Tehsildar Niharika Nayak over eviction on Monday night.
Talking to OTV, Nayak alleged that Jagdev had 'forced' her to evict a family late in the evening, to which she objected.
“He (Jagdev) forced me to carry out eviction in the night. I told him that I would do the needful after conducting land measurement in the morning. I too informed him that eviction can't be carried out after the sunset. Hearing this, the MLA got angry with me and went to oust the family members from the hut. Later, he threw a lantern from inside the house that hit me and I fell down,” Nayak stated.
Protesting the MLA's 'indecent' act, staff of the Bolgarh Tehsil office resorted to cease-work and sat on a dharna at the office premises today. They demanded arrest of Jagdev.
"If this can happen with a person of an officer rank, worse than this can happen with us," said an employee.
However following intervention of the additional district medical officer (ADMO), the agitators later called off the stir.
The MLA refuted the allegation terming the issue false and baseless.
"A person had encroached a part of an under construction Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) road and had built a temporary house on that. I called the Tehsildar at 4pm and brought the matter to her notice. She even agreed to carry out the eviction. But she later called me in the night and said to settle the issue through negotiation. When I reached the spot, the Tehsildar was not present. While I was speaking to the person and his wife in the house, they abused me. In a fit of rage, another person present there threw a lantern. But it did not hit her," Jagdev said.
Earlier this month, Jagdev had hurled abuses at some roadside vendors here that prompted some local youths to gherao the legislator's residence and demanded apology.
Last year during Rath Yatra, the MLA and some of his supporters allegedly got into a fight with the policemen including SP Asish Singh when the deities were taken to the chariots in pahandi ritual. Eyewitnesses said, the clash broke out when police stopped Jagadev from entering the sanctum sanctorum, which was declared off limits to the public during the procession.