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Hans India
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
BJP leader gets bail in officer assault case
Bhubaneswar: The BJP leader, Jagannath Pradhan, who was arrested in a case involving the physical assault on a senior Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officer in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office, was released from jail after getting bail from a local court here on Wednesday. Pradhan was released from Jharpada jail here on Wednesday evening. The BJP leader was welcomed by his supporters when he walked out of the jail. The BJP leader and Bhubaneswar (Ekamra) MLA Babu Singh also welcomed him. Then, his supporters took Pradhan to his office in a procession by bursting firecrackers and beating drums. Speaking to mediapersons, Pradhan condemned the incident (assault on OAS officer) and claimed that he was neither directly nor indirectly involved in the assault on the officer, which was 'proved today by the court.' The OAS Association became the victim of a conspiracy of Opposition BJD, which led to his arrest, he claimed. 'The OAS Association should introspect how they fell into the conspiracy. It is the duty of every officer to ensure smooth functioning of the Mohan Majhi government in the State,' he said. Earlier in the day, the District and Sessions Court, Khurda, granted bail to Pradhan on a security of Rs 30,000. The court had asked the government counsel to produce the telephonic conversation between Pradhan and Ratnakar Sahoo, the victim OAS officer. The court granted bail to Pradhan after the government counsel 'failed' to produce evidence of a conversation in the court, said advocate Suresh Kumar Sahoo. The BMC Additional Commissioner, Ratnakar Sahoo, was brutally attacked, dragged on the floor of the office, kicked in the face and humiliated by a group of people, allegedly supporters of Pradhan. The viral video of the officer's assault created a Statewide outrage forcing OAS officers to go on strike demanding the arrest of all the accused persons, including Pradhan, who is accused of masterminding the attack on Sahoo. On Thursday night, Pradhan surrendered before the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar, and was arrested and sent to jail. He was produced before the SDJM (Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate's) Court in Bhubaneswar which rejected his bail petition and sent him to 14-day judicial custody. Pradhan was booked under various sections of BNS which deals with offences like assault on public servants, obstructing government work and causing grievous injury. The BJP leader surrendered before the police as the members of the OAS Association went on a cease-work agitation across the State. Earlier, police had arrested five persons in connection with the case. While Pradhan was granted bail on Wednesday, the hearing of the bail petition of the other five accused is scheduled to be held on July 15, the advocate said.
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
BMC officer assault case: BJP neta gets bail
Bhubaneswar: Six days after he was arrested for his role in the alleged assault of BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo in the civic body's office, BJP member Jagannath Pradhan was granted bail by a local court on Wednesday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Pradhan obtained bail on a bond of Rs 30,000 and personal surety, official sources said. Soon after his release from Jharpada special jail in the evening, senior BJP members, including Ekamra-Bhubaneswar MLA Babu Singh, went to receive him with supporters. Pradhan surrendered at the DCP office on Thursday evening and was remanded in judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected. Earlier, five of his supporters — Sanjib Mishra, Sachikanta Swain, Aparupa Narayan Rout alias Jeevan Rout (corporator of ward 29), Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra, and Debashis Pradhan — were arrested. State BJP president Manmohan Samal also suspended the five from primary membership based on allegations of their involvement in the BMC office violence. A video of Sahoo being assaulted went viral, which helped the police arrest the culprits.
The Print
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Print
BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan gets bail in OAS officer assault case
Additional Commissioner of BMC Ratnakar Sahoo was brutally attacked, dragged on the floor of the office, kicked in the face and humiliated by a group of people, allegedly supporters of Pradhan. The viral video of the officer's assault created a statewide outrage forcing OAS officers to go on strike demanding arrest of all the accused persons including Pradhan, who is accused of masterminding the attack on Sahoo. The District and Sessions Court, Khurda has granted bail to Pradhan on security of Rs 30,000. The court has asked the government counsel to produce the telephonic conversation between Pradhan and Ratnakar Sahoo, the victim OAS officer. The court granted bail to Pradhan after the government counsel 'failed' to produce evidence of conversation in the court, said advocate Suresh Kumar Sahoo. Bhubaneswar, Jul 9 (PTI) A local court here on Wednesday granted bail to BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan, who was arrested in a case involving the physical assault of a senior Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) officer in Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office. On Thursday night, Pradhan surrendered before the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar and was arrested and sent to jail. He was produced before the SDJM (Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate's) Court in Bhubaneswar which rejected his bail petition and sent him to a 14-day judicial custody. Pradhan was booked under various sections of BNS which deals with offences like assault on public servants, obstructing government work, and causing grievous injury. The BJP leader surrendered before the police as the members of the OAS Association went on a cease-work agitation across the state. Earlier, police had arrested five persons in connection with the case. While Pradhan was granted bail today, the hearing of the bail petition of the other five accused is scheduled to be held on July 15, the advocate said. PTI AAM AAM RG This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
India Gazette
04-07-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Odisha officer assault case: Protesting workers to resume work tomorrow; internal security to be tightened
Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], July 4 (ANI): Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Sulochana Das on Friday stated that workers on protest would resume work tomorrow, further stating that new CCTV cameras would be installed and internal security would be strengthened. The BMC staff has been on a protest against the assault of BMC Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo. 'The workers had gone on strike, but they will work normally from has assured us of proper security. We will also have our internal security in CCTVs are being security is being strengthened,' Das told ANI. She further thanked the Odisha Police for arresting the culprit. 'I would like to thank the people of Odisha for their support to Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC)...I am grateful to Odisha Police, especially the Commissionerate Police, that despite immense pressure they arrested the culprit. People are feeling unsafe today, but that should not happen. People should feel safe and their trust in the Constitution should remain are doing their work, and we believe they will arrest all those who are involved. They will set an example for everyone so that nobody would dare to enter a public office and assault someone,' she further added. Earlier, Odisha Congress-in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu criticised the assault and stated that Odisha was turning into 'Jungle Raj.' He blamed the BJP, which is also the ruling party in Odisha, for the protest by the IAS fraternity, which has brought everything to a standstill. He said, 'Officers are not safe in Odisha. A municipal officer was dragged, kicked, and hit with shoes. It is clear who is responsible for this. All the IAS officers are protesting, and everything is at a standstill. In the state, where a conflict exists between the party and the government, where public interest and sentiments are not respected, such a place has turned into Jungle Raj.' Earlier, BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan surrendered at the DCP office in Bhubaneswar and was subsequently arrested by the police. The Bharatiya Janata Party's Odisha unit has suspended five of its members over their alleged involvement in the violence at the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office, where Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo was assaulted on Monday. Odisha BJP's media cell said that the party's state unit chief Manmohan Samal has suspended five leaders - Corporator Aparup Narayan Raut, Rashmi Ranjan Mohapatra, Debashish Pradhan, Sachikanth Swain and Sanjeev Mishra, from the primary membership of the BJP based on allegations related to the violence at the BMC office. Apart from this, BMC has strongly condemned the assault on its Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo by a group of individuals. (ANI)
New Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Public seethe as OAS strike cripples essential services
BHUBANESWAR: As the state grapples with floods and the government faces mounting pressure over ensuring smooth and incident-free completion of Rath Yatra rituals along with paddy procurement across districts, the mass leave and pen-down strike by OAS and ORS officers to protest the assault on additional commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Ratnakar Sahoo has pushed the administration to the brink. Despite the assurances of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and senior ministers of taking strictest of action against those involved in the incident, the OAS Association has been unrelenting, and continued its strike in different districts. The Association on Thursday issued a three-day ultimatum to the state government to arrest BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan, whom it accused of being the kingpin behind the assault. It also demanded provision of adequate security for all field-level executive officers including tehsildars, sub-collectors, BDOs and executive officers, and public condemnation of the incident by the government. Notwithstanding the serious problems faced by common citizens in availing public services, around 1,500 OAS and ORS officers working in more than 20 districts, including Cuttack, Khurda, Ganjam, Balangir, Mayurbhanj, Angul, Kendrapara, Sambalpur and Koraput continued their indefinite mass leave, disrupting day-to-day government work. The protest also hampered administrative services in Lok Seva Bhawan here and other government establishments in the capital city. Apart from the OAS and ORS bodies at the state and district-level, a dozen of other employees associations including Odisha Engineers' Service Association have also extended their support to the agitation. The protest has left thousands of citizens to grapple with delays in availing a wide range of critical services - from caste and income certificates to filing grievance for land mutation.
