Post News Network
Rayagada, Feb 21: Even as Rayagada collector Sashi Bhushan Padhi and Integrated Tribal Development Agency project director Gorachand Gomango were transferred by the state government Saturday, political parties here refused to stop their protests demanding arrest of both the officials.
Both Congress and BJP staged demonstration in the town and flayed the government for trying to protect these officials.
District Congress committee president Durga Prasad Panda said: “Padhi should be arrested immediately and the government should suspend him for harassing the deceased district welfare officer Dhaneswar Prusty.”
Panda hinted that his party may observe bandh in Bissamkatak, Muniguda and Gunupur over the issue February 25.
Blaming senior police officials of the district for trying to protect the collector by ‘deliberately making delay in the registeration of the case, former MP and Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president Pradip Majhi said his party would raise the issue in the state Assembly and continue its fight till Prusty’s family gets justice.
District BJP president Tapan Tapadar and state executive board member of the party, Kaliram Majhi reiterated his party’s demand of handing over the case to Central Bureau of Investigation.
Meanwhile, district superintendent of police K Shiva Subramani said that police had registered a case of unnatural death. “But, police couldn’t take further action in the case as the state government decided to hand it over to Crime Branch (CB),” he said.
“Now, CB would decide whether to convert the case of unnatural death to some other case after completing investigation into it,” he added.
Subramani claimed that police had conducted preliminary investigation into the case properly and they have handed over all documents related to the case including the suicide note of Prusty to CB.
“The suicide note has been sent to a forensic lab in Cuttack for verification,” he said. Meanwhile, the CB team went to some government offices here Saturday and collected information related to the case. According to sources, the team members went to offices of collector, sub-collector, tehsildar and welfare department and collected information regarding the deceased officer.
