The Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) Association on Saturday demanded that the persons responsible for the attack on Marsaghai BDO SK Pati be arrested soon. The association said it would be forced to boycott the poll duty including the May 16 counting of votes if their demand is not met within 48 hours. A team of OAS officers submitted a memorandum to Chief Electoral Officer Mona Sharma urging her to take action.
“We want the culprits involved in the attack on Marsaghai BDO SK Pati be arrested within 48 hours. If our demand remains unheeded, we may boycott poll duties,” said association secretary Jyoti Ranjan Mishra. Pati was yesterday physically assaulted by a mob at Kendrapada town after Opposition parties found parking of a Bolero loaded with EVMs near his official residence. Suspecting that the EVMs were being taken to Pati’s residence for tampering, the mob attacked him besides ransacking his official residence. However, the OAS officers association has claimed that the officer had no fault as he did not take any used EVMs. The EVMs seized from near Pati’s house were unused and reserved for replacement if required during the polling, they said.