DHENKANAL: Distressed over his dismissal from the Odisha State Armed Police (OSAP) constable post back in 2020 on medical grounds, a 30-year-old man on Saturday morning climbed up a mobile tower in Dhenkanal town and threatened to die by suicide if his job was not reinstated and Rs 25 lakh not paid to him by the state government.
Rudra Narayan Dash is a resident of Sogar village in Kamakhyanagar of Dhenkanal district. SDPO Ramesh Dora said Dash agreed to come down only around 8.30 pm after the district administration and police assured to provide him a job. He was taken to the Dhenkanal district headquarters hospital for medical examination.
According to sources, Dash had been selected in the OSAP battalion in Dhenkanal as constable in 2018 and joined the service the same year. He was then shifted to Jharsuguda for training. However, during training, he reportedly fell sick and underwent medical checkup at Burla hospital where he was declared unfit.
Eventually, he returned to Dhenkanal again, where a medical board was constituted which reiterated that he was medically unfit. Following the reports, Dash was dismissed from service.
Terming his dismissal unjust, Dash said he had approached the higher authorities concerned and even the Orissa High Court seeking relief but to no avail. He said he also met the Dhenkanal collector and SP and even Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi who assured to take him back in the job but nothing has so far been done in this regard.
Dash alleged owing to this situation, he has been facing severe financial crisis and his parents are also unwell. Frustrated with the issue, he climbed atop the 150-feet mobile tower and threatened to die by suicide if his two demands were not met. He was eventually rescued.