Balangir: Saying no to irregular practice has proved costly to a woman sarpanch of the district as she was refused entry to her own village.

Rina Bariha, the sarpanch of Dumerpita panchayat in Deogaon block of Balangir district, alleged that she and her family had been staying at a family relative's house at Dumerpita village for the last fifteen days as she has been refused entry to her own village Satighat as she objected to some works by the villagers that were not approved in the panchayat council meeting.

Rina said that she was feeling insecure as she had also been threatened by a local BJP leader and his supporters with dire consequences if she dared to raise a voice.

The sarpanch, her husband and other family members met Balangir police superintendent K. Shiva Subramony on Wednesday and lodged a complaint against the accused, while also seeking protection for herself and her family.

On June 28, a meeting took place among the ward and samiti members of Dumerpita panchayat which was being presided over by the sarpanch. While the meeting was going on, local BJP leader Sashi Bhusan Sahu and some of his supporters barged into the room and asked the sarpanch to sign work order and pass bill of the earth work done in the Mahaling Kata (water body) of Satighat village.

Bariha refused saying that the work was done illegally since it was not approved in the panchayat meeting.

"They pressed upon me to get the work order signed and pass the bill of the work. As I refused, they warned me not to come to the village and also threatened to kill me. Ever since, I have been staying at a relative's a house in Dumerpita village with my family. I feel insecure," she said.

Balangir Zilla Adivasi Kalyan Sangh has taken the matter seriously. Chief advisor of the sangh Satya Narayan Bhoi termed the incident most unfortunate that a sarpanch belonging to the tribal community was being harassed and threatened for her honesty.

"The incident is deplorable and we demand immediate arrest of the accused. The sangh will hit the street if the culprits are not brought to book within a week," Bhoi said. Sahu, however, said that he had done nothing wrong, while terming the allegation as baseless. "The allegation against me is baseless and concocted. It is meant to tarnish my image," he said.