Bhubaneswar: The family members of a government official, who was allegedly assaulted by outgoing Odisha Governor Raghubar Das’ son six months ago, Wednesday expressed hope that the “culprit” will be taken to task in accordance with the law.
Assistant section officer Baikuntha Pradhan’s wife Sayoji said, “We hope that the government will now take action as Raghubar Das is no longer the governor. He and his son are now common citizens. Though Das had assured me justice when I met him July 13, no action has been taken against anyone.”
President Droupadi Murmu Tuesday appointed Mizoram Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati as the new Odisha governor and accepted the resignation of Das.
Pradhan was allegedly assaulted and mentally tortured by Das’s son Lalit Kumar and four others at the Governor’s House in Puri July 7 when President Murmu visited the pilgrim town to witness Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra. Pradhan, who then worked at the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar, was deployed at Puri Governor’s House in light of the President’s visit.
Subsequently, Pradhan lodged an FIR in this regard July 10 with Sea Beach police, seeking justice. Soon after the incident, the state government transferred the ASO from the governor’s secretariat.
Sayoji said, “I feel there has been no such inquiry into the allegations made by my husband at the police station. The incident has hurt the Odia pride as an outsider physically and mentally tortured a government official and got scot-free. It is painful that the government did not take any action against the culprits.”
She, however, said that she and her family are waiting silently on the next course of action of the state government.
The issue was also raised in the Odisha Assembly, and the state government informed the House that the Puri district magistrate-cum-collector was probing into the allegations and would submit a report within one month.
Leader of the opposition and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik had raised the issue in the Assembly and also alleged that action was probably not taken against the accused persons because one of them was the son of the Governor.
“My party and I are disappointed and surprised to find that the present government has taken no action on the governor’s son, who has meted out violence to a government officer. We are deeply shocked by this,” Patnaik had told reporters outside the Assembly on July 23.
In September, Patnaik again raised the issue and said, “Now I have a question for all of us. If you are the governor’s son, a minister’s son, an MP’s son, an MLA’s son, or a senior officer’s son, is the law different for such a person? Is he immune from any prosecution? If this is the case, then the people of Odisha should be informed that certain people are above the law.”
PTI