SAMBALPUR: THE official work at Sadar tehsil and Sub-Collector office here came to a grinding halt on Friday after employees of both the offices resorted to pen down strike over alleged assault on a female Revenue Inspector (RI) by a woman lawyer.
As per report, female RI Gitanjali Panigrahi was allegedly assaulted by lawyer Suranjini Barik on the premises of Sub-Collector office here on Thursday. Barik had come to inquire about the status of a caste certificate. But when she came to know that the application has been sent to Sonepur, she was peeved and allegedly beat up Gitanjali while she was on way to attend a review meeting.
Condemning the attack, employees of both the offices and RIs of all circles of the district staged dharna on the Sub-Collector office premises demanding arrest of Barik. They also demanded security for the employees of the tehsil office. They said the applicant had applied for caste certificate at Sambalpur Sadar tehsil office. Gitanjali had sent the application for verification to Sonepur as the applicant belonged to Sonepur district.
Sambalpur District Bar Association president Atanu Ghosh said the matter will be resolved amicably.
Sambalpur SP Sanjeev Arora said two cases have been registered after receiving complaints from both the sides. Investigation is on.