Odisha bureaucrats suspend mass leave protest over assault of senior colleague

UPDATED: Jul 1, 2025 13:28 IST

An association of Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officers has decided to put their 'mass leave' protest on hold after they got an assurance from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi that strong action will be taken against all culprits involved in the alleged assault of their senior colleague, an official said on Tuesday.

The Odisha Administrative Service Association has called for its members to go on a 'mass leave' from Tuesday to protest against the alleged assault of a senior OAS officer on Monday.

According to a statement issued by OAS Association president Jyoti Ranjan Mishra, “The CM has assured the association that the culprits and the perpetrators behind the scene, however powerful they may be, shall be strictly punished as per stringent provisions of law.”

On the appeal of Majhi, the association decided not to proceed on leave or take any such measures, Mishra said.

“Hence, in reverence to the CM’s appeal, the mass leave from July 1 is not called off but is hereby postponed,” he said.

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo was allegedly dragged from his office and assaulted by a group of miscreants on Monday, police said.

"The police have so far arrested three persons, including BJP corporator Jeevan Rout, in connection with the assault and are searching for others," an officer said.

The state government held two meetings with the representatives from the OAS association on Monday night, the official said.

"The first meeting was held with Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja in the presence of DGP Y B Khurania. Later, another round of meetings was conducted under the chairmanship of the chief minister in the presence of the chief secretary, DGP, police commissioner and advocate general. The meeting lasted till midnight," he said.

Sanitation workers in Bhubaneswar have called off their services in protest against the assault of the additional commissioner of the BMC. The workers demanded the immediate arrest of all accused in the incident.

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