JAIPUR: A woman Revenue Inspector (RI) and other officials of Pritipur revenue circle were attacked, tied to a tree and kept hostage for four hours by villagers of Paikasahi when they had gone there to assess Fani damage.
The incident took place on Wednesday but came to light on Friday when the RI Anita Samad filed a complaint with Binjharpur police. Samad and one of her staff Pramod Nath Sharma sustained injuries in the attack.
A squad of revenue officials had gone to the village to assess the damage caused by the cyclonic storm. While they were on their job, some villagers abused them without any provocation. They then allegedly thrashed the officers, tied them to a tree on a village road and kept them hostage. On being informed, local police and Binjharpur Tehsildar reached the spot and rescued the officials.
Binjharpur police station IIC Siba Charan Behera said the matter is under investigation and police are ascertaining identity of the accused involved in the crime. He said preliminary investigation suggests that villagers were angry with revenue officials over administrative negligence. When the village was affected by Titli last year, the revenue officials had promised to assess the loss and pay compensation.
However, the affected villagers have not yet received any compensation. When the officials went to review Fani damage, the angry villagers allegedly assaulted them.