BHUBANESWAR/KENDRAPARA:As public anger against police lathicharge on demonstrators at Kendrapara mounted amidst further expose on self-styled Godman Sarathi Baba, a worried State government immediately acted by transferring the Superintendent of Police Satish Gajbhiye.
The transfer order came as the situation spilled out of control after police lathicharge on agitators led by district BJP president Duryodhan Sahu at Tinmuhani square at Kendrapara on Thursday demanding the arrest of the Baba for his alleged escapades.
Gajbhiye, shunted out to the police headquarters, has been replaced by Vigilance SP Nitinjit Singh as the Kendrapara SP. Besides, Inspector General of Police R P Koche has been asked to immediately proceed to Kendrapara and camp there till normalcy is restored. A team from Crime Branch has already reached Kendrapara to start investigation into alleged escapades of the Baba.
Police have beefed up security outside the house of the girl, who allegedly stayed with the Baba in a hotel at Hyderabad in the first week of July, here. A group of agitators had staged protests in front of her house in Paradip demanding action against the Baba, following which her father Bhagabat Mallik sought police protection for his family on Friday.
Meanwhile, the BJP protested the police lathicharge on its workers at Kendrapara at a public meeting at Ram Mandir square here in the presence of State unit president K V Singhdeo and senior leader Bijay Mohapatra. Singhdeo warned that the agitation will be intensified unless Sarathi Baba is arrested.
Alleging that many BJD leaders frequented Baba’s ashram, Mohapatra criticised the State government for promoting it as a tourist destination. The BJP has decided to protest against the police lathicharge on its workers by organising demonstrations at all the district headquarters towns on Saturday. A Congress team, led by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan also visited Kendrapara.