Kendrapada: Derabish Block Development Officer (BDO) Namita Barik collapsed and was rushed to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, in critical condition Friday following an alleged confrontation with a group of BJP leaders and supporters at her office.
According to sources, around 30 BJP supporters, led by BJP state spokesperson and social media in-charge Umakanta Pattnaik, entered the BDO’s chamber seeking information on various rural development schemes. The group allegedly engaged in a heated exchange with the officer and subjected her to verbal abuse and mental harassment.
Sources further alleged that the BDO was kept inside her chamber for more than an hour after the door was locked. The officer reportedly fell seriously ill following the episode, prompting the group to leave the office after her condition deteriorated.
However, Pattnaik strongly denied the allegations, describing them as “malicious and fabricated.” He said he had obtained prior permission to meet the BDO along with around 20 party workers, including Zilla Parishad member Dali Satapathy, to seek details of projects being implemented under the ‘Bikashita Gaon, Bikashita Odisha’ programme. “We had gone there to seek information about the projects, but the BDO failed to provide satisfactory answers to our queries,” Pattnaik alleged. He categorically denied that anyone misbehaved with or ill-treated the BDO and said the allegations could be verified through CCTV footage installed on the premises.
Pattnaik alleged that the incident was part of a conspiracy by the Patkura BJD camp to malign him and the ruling BJP. He said he had apprised the President of the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Association and the Kendrapada District Collector about the incident. Kendrapada Collector Raghuram R. Iyer said a medical team led by the Additional District Magistrate attended to the BDO in her chamber after she fell ill.
As her condition subsequently worsened, she was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, for further treatment. The Collector said he had no information regarding the allegations that the officer was detained or ill-treated inside her chamber. No FIR has been registered in connection with the incident so far.
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