BJP’s Jagannath Pradhan breaks silence on BMC officer assault
Bhubaneswar: A day after Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo was assaulted on office premises, BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan said he had called Sahoo in response to a complaint from a female Swachh Saathi (sanitation ambassador) from ward number 34.
According to Pradhan, the sanitation ambassador alleged that Sahoo had “misbehaved” with her and “pressured” her over her political involvement.
“I called him because he had allegedly scolded the woman for participating in a BJP rally,” Pradhan told reporters.
He further claimed that when he questioned Sahoo about the incident, the officer responded, “Who are you to ask me?”
The female sanitation ambassador at the centre of the controversy, Rebati Raut, has also come forward with serious allegations.
Speaking to the media, Raut claimed she was “threatened with termination” for mobilising 60 to 70 people to attend a recent rally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“He told me I’d be sacked if I continued to support the BJP,” Raut said, referring to Sahoo. She added that after reporting the threat to Pradhan, he contacted the BMC officer.
On the day of the incident, Additional Commissioner Sahoo said he had been handling grievance-related matters in the absence of the commissioner.
“Around 11:30 or 12 noon, Corporator Jiban Babu and five or six men came. I thought they were there to submit a grievance,” Sahoo said.
“Jiban Babu asked me what I had told Jaga Babu (Jagannath Pradhan), and I replied that I hadn’t said anything,” he added.
“They asked if I had misbehaved, and I said I had not. Then the group began pulling me toward a car. They manhandled me,” he said.
Sahoo called for strict action in connection with the incident. He also said that during a call with Pradhan, the topic of an inquiry report involving a Swachh Saathi came up.
“When he asked about the inquiry report, I told him I had submitted it to the commissioner,” Sahoo said.
When asked whether the Swachh Saathi had been removed from duty, he clarified that while a report had been submitted, no action had been taken so far.
The inquiry, he said, stemmed from a complaint by a corporator who alleged that the Swachh Saathi from ward number 34 was not performing her duties properly.
PNN
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