Bhubaneswar:
High drama unfolded in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) office today after a senior official was assaulted by a group of men. In a shocking video, the men were seen dragging the additional commissioner of the BMC, Ratnakar Sahoo, out of his office, repeatedly hitting him and kicking him in the face.
Mr Sahoo was allegedly attacked during a grievance hearing. He has alleged that while the public hearing was going on, some people barged into his chamber and grabbed him by his collar and assaulted him over claims that he allegedly misbehaved with “Jag bhai” (an alleged reference to BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan). He also claimed that the men tried to forcibly take him to their vehicle.
“While I was conducting a grievance hearing around 11.30 am, five to six people, including BMC corporator Jeevan Raut, barged into my chamber. As soon as he entered the chamber, the corporator asked me if I had misbehaved with Jag bhai. But when I refused, the people accompanying him misbehaved and manhandled me. They dragged me out of my office, thrashed me and were trying to forcibly take me to their vehicle,” Mr Sahoo said.
Visuals showed the men pushing him to the ground, kicking him and dragging him down a set of stairs to a vehicle
A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed in the case, and three people – Jeevan Raut, Rashmi Mahapatra and Debashish Pradhan – have been arrested.
The assault sparked a protest by the corporators from the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and staff members of the BMC, who staged a road blockade on the bustling Janpath Road of the capital city of Odisha.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Administration Service Association has decided to go on “mass leave” from Tuesday (July 1) in protest against the attack on Ratnakar Sahoo.
“Nobody Is Safe”
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his deep shock at “brutal kicking and assault” of Additional Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and called upon Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to take immediate and exemplary action against the guilty including “political leaders who orchestrated and conspired this shameful attack”.
“I am utterly shocked seeing this video. Today, Shri Ratnakar Sahoo, OAS Additional Commissioner, BMC, a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary was dragged from his office and brutally kicked and assaulted in front of a BJP Corporator, allegedly linked to a defeated BJP MLA Candidate,” Mr Patnaik wrote on X.
I am utterly shocked seeing this video.
Today, Shri Ratnakar Sahoo, OAS Additional Commissioner, BMC, a senior officer of the rank of Additional Secretary was dragged from his office and brutally kicked and assaulted in front of a BJP Corporator, allegedly linked to a defeated… pic.twitter.com/yf7M3dLt9C
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) June 30, 2025
He said that it was appalling that it happened in full public view, in the heart of the capital city, to a senior officer. “If a senior officer is not safe in his own office, then what law and order will ordinary citizens expect from the Government?” he said.
BMC Mayor Sulochana Das condemned the incident and demanded that an attempted murder case be filed against the accused.
“Nobody is safe here. A government officer was dragged out of his office by 5-6 men. He was assaulted, and there was an attempt to abduct him. We had the visuals and even shared them with the media. An attempt to murder case should be filed against them. We had filed an FIR, but only three people have been arrested. All accused should be arrested…”
The Congress party also criticised the ruling BJP over the attack on Mr Sahoo. Congress leader and MLA from Barabati-Cuttack condemned the “shocking and shameful attack” and said, “Odisha deserves law and order – not jungle raj”. :If a senior officer is not safe in the capital, how can ordinary citizens feel secure? This is an attack on the entire administrative system and the rule of law,” she wrote in a post on X.
I strongly condemn the shocking and shameful attack on Shri Ratnakar Sahoo, Additional Commissioner of BMC, who was brutally assaulted in broad daylight inside his own office in Bhubaneswar.
If a senior officer is not safe in the capital, how can ordinary citizens feel secure?… pic.twitter.com/yNafKzaQmB
— Sofia Firdous (@sofiafirdous1) June 30, 2025
With inputs from Dev Kumar.
