Basudevpur: Tension prevailed Monday after women PDS beneficiaries of Karanjadia panchayat dragged the Supplies Officer out of his office and thrashed him mercilessly over non-supply of rice for the last two months here in Bhadrak district.
Later, police detained two persons including a woman for the alleged assault. The incident occurred after a large number of women alleged that over 700 beneficiaries in Karanjadia panchayat had not been getting their entitled rice quantities for the last two months. They marched to the block office here to confront the Supplies Officer, Ajay Kumar Das.
On arrival, the women demanded that their quota of rice be handed over to them immediately. This led to a heated argument, during which the agitators dragged Das out of his office and started beating him. The women assaulted Das mercilessly and dragged him across the road to Municipality Square. Das collapsed due to the assault, but the women were in no mood to let him go. They pulled Das to the main market here all the while beating him. A scuffle broke out when the police tried to rescue Das.
Initially, cops had to retreat due to the meagre number of policewomen present at the spot. On being informed, personnel from the Chudamani and Kashia Marine police stations reached the spot and rescued Das from the clutches of the irate women. A case has been registered in this connection at Basudevpur police station and further investigations are on, IIC Jeetendra Kumar Nayak said. The incident has created panic in the locality.