Daltonganj, Oct. 3: Members of the Palamau unit of Jharkhand Administrative Service Association (JASA) have expressed their resentment over the increasing number of cases of attack on state government officers posted in the district and have urged the authorities to beef up security.
According to the association sources five state government officers have been attacked by politicians or their henchmen in Palamau during the last couple of months.
The Block Development Officer (BDO) of Visrampur was assaulted while on a routine inspection, Chainpur BDO met a similar fate, Lesliganj circle officer was assaulted while the recent incident of Patan BDO being assaulted by local Bharatiya Janata Party president has witnessed much protests from the officials.
Members of the association have discussed the matter with senior government officials in Ranchi and have demanded an inquiry into the incidents.
The members are disappointed as the BJP block president, accused of assaulting the Patan BDO, is still at large. “The conditions in this part of the state are not favourable for stepping out at all. We have to bear the brunt of the underground Naxalite outfits, politicians, their henchmen and even criminals. There is no security for us and our families,” said a member of the association.
He said a sense of fear and insecurity has gripped the officers at their places of work and he threatened that the members of his association would refrain from discharging their duties till the state government promised security for every officer.
“In the new state the association is yet to become effective and strong. No one listens to the associations’ representatives. So we don’t have faith on the association now. No one is ready to fight for our cause. We will have to arrange for security on our own. Earlier when Jharkhand was a part of Bihar, the association was strong,” said another member,
But unfazed by criticism from the members of their fraternity, the association has mounted pressure on the Palamau district administration to arrest the Bahujan Samaj Party leader, accused in the Patan BDO assault case.
