DEOGARH/MALKANGIRI : A day after additional commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Ratnakar Sahoo was assaulted in full public glare, Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officers of Deogarh district proceeded on mass leave from Tuesday in protest against the incident.
At an emergency meeting held here on the day, the Deogarh unit of Odisha Administrative Service Association (OASA) passed a resolution condemning the attack and announced the decision to go on mass leave as a mark of protest.
“This is not just an isolated incident, but part of a disturbing pattern where public servants are being increasingly subjected to threats, manhandling, and severe brutality while discharging their duties. Such acts undermine the authority of the state and weaken the rule of law,” the resolution stated.
Chief development officer Rajendra Minz said it is not a routine protest, but a call for accountability and assurance that such attacks will not be normalised or ignored. The state government should implement stringent institutional safeguards to ensure safety and dignity of civil servants across Odisha.
The meeting was chaired by additional district magistrate Rebeca Bilung. Among others, sub-collector Parikshit Sahoo was present.
Later in the day, Deogarh collector Kabindra Kumar Sahoo received the leave applications of the OAS officers working in the district.
Similarly, OAS officers across Malkangiri district also went on mass leave for an indefinite period condemning the brutal attack on Sahoo. A delegation of OAS officers led by ADM (general) Somnath Pradhan and sub-collector Duryodhan Bhoi submitted a memorandum to Malkangiri collector Ashish Iswar Patil protesting the assault on Sahoo.
Sahoo, a senior OAS officer, was brutally assaulted by a group of individuals during the weekly public grievance hearing session at BMC office in Bhubaneswar on Monday. Alleged to be supporters of a local BJP leader, the miscreants kicked and punched Sahoo and dragged him out of the BMC office in full public view.
