OAS Officers Resume Work After Arrest in BMC Official's Assault Case

Bhubaneswar, July 4 (PTI): Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officers have returned to work following the arrest of BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan, related to the attack on the additional commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), an official disclosed on Friday. The OAS officers had embarked on a mass leave starting Tuesday after the incident involving BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo, a senior OAS official, who was allegedly dragged out of his office and assaulted by a group of miscreants earlier in the week. Bhubaneswar DCP Jagmohan Meena stated that Pradhan's arrest was based on the statements from the victim and accused, alongside evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation. So far, six individuals, including Jagannath Pradhan, have been apprehended in connection to the case. The arrest of BJP leader Pradhan, identified as the primary conspirator behind the assault on Sahoo, prompted the OAS officers to call off their 'cease work' protest on Thursday night. Consequently, they returned to their respective duties on Friday morning, according to an officer. "We have resumed our duties today. As our demands were met, the association directed all OAS officers to rejoin work, and so we did," stated Ashirvad Parida, deputy commissioner of Berhampur Municipal Corporation. Pradhan, who was a candidate in the 2024 Odisha assembly election from the Bhubaneswar Central constituency and faced defeat, surrendered at the Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) office on Thursday night. He was subsequently arrested under various sections, as confirmed by a police officer. The BJP leader was presented in court and subsequently placed in 14-day judicial custody after his bail request was denied by a local court. In the meantime, security measures at the BMC office have been intensified. Security personnel, including armed officers, have been stationed at the BMC building. "Following discussions with the police commissioner, we have deployed additional security personnel at our office, who will receive necessary training to prevent such incidents in the future," stated BMC Commissioner Rajesh Prabhakar Patil to reporters.