BERHAMPUR: A panchayat executive officer (PEO), who had consumed poison after being accused of sexual harassment by an additional tehsildar-ranked officer, died during treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here on Tuesday.
Dandapani Patra (57), the PEO of Ramchandrapur panchayat in Chikiti, had consumed poison on February 3 after being accused of sexual harassment during the Sunapur beach festival.
The additional tehsildar had alleged that Patra harassed her when a marathon was underway as part of the beach festival. She also filed a complaint against the PEO in Golanthara police station in this regard. Basing on the complaint, police registered a case.
But before police could start investigation, Patra reportedly consumed poison the same day allegedly due to humiliation. He was rushed to MKCG MCH and shifted to the ICU after his condition deteriorated.
Superintendent of MKCG MCH Dr Durga Madhab Satpathy said the PEO succumbed after fighting for life for 13 days in the hospital.
Earlier, the PEO’s wife Janaki Patra had termed the allegation of the additional tehsildar as false. “How can anyone sexually harass a woman officer in presence of hundreds of people during the marathon in broad daylight? The allegations are not true,” she had claimed.
After the PEO consumed poison, Janaki had said that if her husband died, the additional tehsildar and administration should be held responsible. Repeated attempts to contact the district collector and Golanthara police over the matter proved futile.