BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan was arrested late on Thursday following protests by government officials over the alleged assault of a colleague.
Members of the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Association and the Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) Association have been on strike demanding Pradhan’s arrest for his alleged role in the assault of a senior OAS officer.
The associations allege that Pradhan is the prime accused in the June 30 attack on Ratnakar Sahoo, additional commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), who was dragged out of his office and assaulted in full public view. “This is not merely an attack on one officer but on the dignity of the entire public service,” said OAS Association president Jyoti Ranjan Mishra.
Over 3,600 officers — 2,400 from the OAS and 1,200 from the ORS — have joined the protest, paralysing essential public services across the state. From land records to grievance redress, people have been turned away from block offices as operations have ground to a halt. Law and order management has also suffered, with officers refusing to perform
magisterial duties.
Despite appeals from the government to call off the strike, the associations have remained firm. They have, however, said duties related to the Rath Yatra in Puri and flood relief work in northern Odisha — particularly in Balasore where over 100 villages have been affected — will not be disrupted. “We are professionals. But officers must feel protected. If Jagannath Pradhan is not arrested, block-level officials will feel demoralised,” said Mishra.
The associations issued a three-day ultimatum to the state government to arrest Pradhan or face an intensified stir.
Revenue minister Suresh Pujari urged the officers to return to work, noting that five individuals involved in the assault had already been arrested and suspended from the BJP. “However, the demand to arrest Pradhan requires legal scrutiny. There is no direct prima facie evidence against him yet. He was not present at the scene. Police are investigating and once credible evidence emerges, action will be taken,” Pujari said earlier in the day.
As the row escalated, BJP state president Manmohan Samal summoned Pradhan to the party office. Pradhan, who contested the Bhubaneswar central seat in the recent Assembly election, had evaded police action for days, raising public questions about his apparent immunity. It is still unclear what the motive behind the attack was or what Pradhan, reportedly the one who sent the attackers, hoped to gain from Sahoo.