'I am demoralised': Young IAS officer says BJP MLA threatened him during Odisha flood duty

Samir Kumar Jena alleges Asika MLA shouted at him, abused him and threatened to kill him. The legislator says the matter has been resolved.

A controversy has erupted in Odisha after a BJP MLA from Asika, Saroj Padhi, was accused by an IAS officer of misbehaving with and threatening him while he was deployed on flood management duty. The officer submitted a police complaint against the legislator on Thursday.

Samir Kumar Jena, a 2022-batch IAS officer currently posted as chief development officer-cum-executive officer, zilla parishad, Ganjam, alleged in his complaint that Padhi entered his chamber on Tuesday and shouted at him over the distribution of relief materials. Jena had been assigned to oversee relief and restoration work in the Asika area.

The IAS officer did not respond to calls seeking comment on the allegations, while a senior police officer in the district said the complaint was being verified and appropriate action would be taken in due course. The MLA, on his part, said the matter had been "resolved".

According to the complaint, Jena told the MLA that the relief materials had been arranged by Minister Bibhuti Jena and distributed to beneficiaries as instructed.

"The MLA continued to shout at me even when I tried to convince him to discuss the matter with the minister and to resolve the matter. When I tried to explain my role here as an officer, he continued to hurl abuse at me using unparliamentary language and even threatened to kill me. The MLA also shouted at me, asking me to leave the place," the complainant alleged.

Jena further claimed that the alleged incident was captured on CCTV in the executive officer's (EO) chamber. "Because of this incident, I am highly demoralised and in deep mental shock," he noted in the complaint.

When contacted, Ganjam SP Harisha BC said he would have to confirm whether the complaint had been registered.

Padhi, responding to the allegations, put it down to misunderstandings.

"We have mutually discussed whatever misunderstandings we had, and the matter has already been resolved. I am aware of the police complaint, and I have already discussed the matter with the officer. All of us were busy with flood duty, and some misunderstandings happened in between. I don't have any other complaints," Padhi told reporters in Bhubaneswar.

Meanwhile, the state's Housing and Urban Development Department has transferred Asika Municipality EO Rajesh Kumar Mohapatra to the department. Mohapatra was present during the incident, according to the account of the episode.

In September, another controversy erupted in Ganjam after allegations that Padhi's supporters had misbehaved with a woman sarpanch during a panchayat samiti meeting in Asika.