A group of men allegedly assaulted Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahu on Monday during a grievance hearing session. The civic official claimed that several individuals stormed into his chamber during the public hearing, grabbed him by the collar, and physically attacked him.
Sahu told reporters, "Five to six people, including BMC corporator Jiban Rout, entered my chamber around 11:30 AM while I was conducting the grievance hearing. Immediately after entering, the corporator demanded to know whether I had misbehaved with Jaga Bhai. When I denied this, his associates began abusing and manhandling me. They dragged me out of my office, assaulted me, and attempted to forcibly take me away in their vehicle."
According to reports, BMC employees condemned the attack and suspended work in protest, demanding strict action against the perpetrators.
City Mayor Sulochana Das described the incident as "extremely unfortunate", stating: "Five to six miscreants forcibly entered his office, dragged him out, and attacked him. This demonstrates the complete breakdown of law and order in the state. All employees have stopped work and are staging a dharna. They've vowed to continue their strike until all accused persons are arrested."
Congress party has attacked BJP-ruled state government over the incident. Congress leader BV Srinivas in a post on X alleged that the assailant seen in the video is BJP leader Aparupa Raut, who arrived at the government office with his goons. "Beware, if any media person calls this jungle raj, because here the government is of the BJP," he said.
Kharavela Nagar Police launched an investigation upon being alerted, examining CCTV footage from nearby areas to identify and apprehend the assailants.
