New Delhi: Senior officials of the Odisha Administrative Services (OAS) have gone on mass leave in more than 20 districts to protest against the assault of a senior officer of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) earlier this week.

On Monday (June 30), BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo, was assaulted by a group of men who demanded that Sahoo apologise to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jagannath Pradhan.

The police have arrested five persons in connection with the matter including BMC corporator Jeevan Rout. BJP’s Odisha unit has also suspended five of its workers, including Rout, for their purported involvement in the assault.

The Odisha Administrative Service Association announced the mass leaves and placed three non-negotiable demands before the Mohan Majhi government. The association has asked for Pradhan’s immediate arrest, security provisions for all field-level executive officers and a public condemnation of the attack from the state government.

The association has also submitted a memorandum, calling Pradhan the “prime accused and kingpin” behind the attack, to Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja.

“Considering the widespread discontentment of all the members of the Association working across the state, it has been decided that all OAS officers will continue to be on leave until the demands are met,” the memorandum said.

On Tuesday, Pradhan had blamed Sahoo for misbehaving with him and a woman sanitation worker, which led to the assault. Pradhan later condemned the assault, the Indian Express has reported.

While Odisha revenue minister Suresh Pujari has urged officers to return to work in light of the ongoing Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and the flood-like situation in the state’s northern districts, the officers’ body has said that the incident has hit the morale of officers across the state.

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