Nayagarh: The video of a block development officer (BDO) thrashing a youth has gone viral on the social media. The incident coming in the backdrop of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s appeal to treat everyone with dignity has caused huge embarrassment to the Nayagarh administration.
In the video BDO of Nuagoan, Pramod Dalabehra is seen beating up a youth with a stick. The youth has been identified as Jitendra Pradhan.
Sources said that Jitendra had given his car on hire to the Nuagaon block office in 2019. However, the rental dues have been pending for some time now. Jitendra, who is from Mahipur village, visited the block office Wednesday and requested the officials to clear his dues.
Jitendra again turned up at the block office Thursday and persisted that his dues be cleared. Soon an argument broke out between him and Pramod. In the heat of the moment, Pramod picked up a stick and allegedly started beating Jitendra.
Jitendra was stunned at the behaviour meted out to him. He lodged a complaint at the Nuagaon police station against Pramod.
When asked about the incident, the BDO acknowledged that he had hit Jitendra with a stick. However, he admitted that it was a mistake on his part. “I have apologised to Jitendra and the matter has been amicably settled,” said Dalabehera.
PNN