Union Minister Tudu accused of assaulting Odisha officers

Union Minister Bishwear Tudu Friday allegedly assaulted and injured two senior Odisha government officials at the BJP district office here and a complaint was lodged against him with the police.Tudu has vehemently denied the charge against him as false and Baseless. Malik later filed the complaint with the police.Tudu rejecting the allegation of assaulting officers said they are false and baseless.

Union Minister Bishwear Tudu Friday allegedly assaulted and injured two senior Odisha government officials at the BJP district office here and a complaint was lodged against him with the police.

Tudu has vehemently denied the charge against him as ''false and Baseless''. One of the two assaulted officers has lodged a formal complaint with the police against Tudu and his statement was recorded under Section 161 of CrPC (oral examination of a person by an investigating officer). The union minister of state jal shakti and tribal affairs had called the two officers for a review meeting at the party office at Baripada, the district headquarter town of Mayurbhanj district, and allegedly lost his temper as the two officers did not carry official files with them and scolded them for violating the protocol of a union minister. ''Though we tried to make him understand that we cannot bring files to him at a time when the model code of conduct is in place in the state for the panchayat election, he got angry and refused to listen. He closed the door of the room and started hitting us with a chair,'' assistant director of Mayurbhanj district planning board, Debashis Mohapatra, who was one of the assaulted officers, said.

Mohapatra's left hand was allegedly fractured in the assault, while the district planning board director Ashwinin Malik, who too had gone for the meeting, sustained injuries, doctors at the Pandit Raghnath Murmu Medical College and Hospital said. The two officers said that they have informed the district collector of the incident. Malik later filed the complaint with the police.

Tudu rejecting the allegation of assaulting officers said they are ''false and baseless''. ''The two officers made such allegations to malign my image ahead of the panchyat poll," Tudu claimed.

The five phase rural poll in Odisha will be held between February 16 to 24.

Admitting that the officers had met him for a review, Tudu said "I told them to come later as I was busy in election work''. Last year in October Odisha Administrative Service officers in Mayurbhanj district had protested against Tudu's alleged misbehaviour with some OAS officers in the district and 'derogatory remarks' against them by wearing black badges.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)