BHUBANESWAR: A day after officials of the Nandankanan zoological park were assaulted on the zoo premises, Commissionerate Police on Tuesday arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in the matter.
Police identified the accused as Santosh Pahadsingh (40) of Daruthenga village in Chandaka and Santosh Samal (20) of Madhuban Samal Sahi in Barang. The butcher knife allegedly used by the duo to terrorise the forest officials, was also seized from them.
Police investigation revealed Pahadsingh has around nine criminal cases lodged against him in different police stations of the capital city. Notably, the two had on Monday evening stormed into the office of the zoo deputy director brandishing sharp weapons and creating havoc by punching and slapping the defenceless officials, breaking their mobile phones, electronic items and other furniture.
They manhandled biologist Dr Rajesh Mahapatra, ACFs Sudipta Kumar Panda and Dr Rashmi Ranjan Swain and Ashutosh Campa, audit officer in Forest, Environment and Climate Change department before leaving the spot.
The entire incident was captured on CCTVs installed on the office premises. The PCR van staff in the locality were also accused of standing outside the zoo office as mute spectators and watching the miscreants flee the spot. While police is now investigating the matter to find the exact cause of the assault, sources said one of the miscreants reportedly had an altercation with a zoo staff over a trivial matter in the past.