Bhubaneswar, Nov. 2: Members of two aggrieved families were forcibly evicted from the gates of Naveen Nivas, the chief minister’s residence, after they tried to stage a dharna there.

In the morning, police removed members of a family from Jajpur, when they tried to sit on a hunger strike in front of Naveen Nivas, violating prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code. In the afternoon, another family from Berhampur repeated the act and was evicted. Later, the family members were taken to Lower PMG, the place normally reserved for staging protests, by police vans and released.

The family members of Radharani Senapati, who had lost her eyes in 2001 while undergoing treatment in Jajpur district Hospital, first attempted a dharna outside the chief minister’s residence. She, along with her husband and son, came to meet the chief minister today. She said in the past, she had met Naveen and informed him about her grievances. However, the assurances given by Naveen were not fulfilled.

“Even the authorities did not allow us meet the chief minister. Therefore, we decided to sit on a strike in front of Naveen Nivas,” said the woman, adding that after her family today reached near Naveen Nivas, the police cordoned her up and took her family members to Lower PMG.

“We are told that we will be allowed to meet with the chief secretary, but later, the police officers threatened us not to sit on a strike and meet other officers which we do not want,” said Binod Bihari Senapati, husband of the woman. He also said other officers, who had been earlier given the responsibilities by the chief minister to take care of their problems, gave false information to Naveen.

The family members said they would sit on hunger strike on Lower PMG until their demand for compensation was not fulfilled.

In the afternoon, family members of Ganpati Dakua from Ganjam district were stopped by the city police and brought back to Lower PMG. They were alleging that a land plot, which the state government allotted them in 2002 under green card scheme for adopting birth control methods, has been encroached.

The police said the family members had been threatening to take extreme steps if the chief minister did not meet them and listen to their plights. The Dakua family drew media attention in 2009, after Ganapati Dakua, his wife and 19-year-old daughter jumped in front of the chief minister’s car when he was coming out of the secretariat.

Dakua said that as their attempts to meet the chief minister could not be fulfilled, they went near his residence to sit on strike. “But, the police stopped us on the way and took us to PMG Square. They even threaten us to go back to our village,” said Dakua.

“Section 144 has been clamped around the chief minister’s residence. None is allowed to hold protests near it. Therefore, we took them to PMG Square, where it is allowed to hold protest,” said a police officer, adding that they were trying to arrange meetings of these people with concerned officials.