Family member of village leader in Odisha accused of making discriminatory comments based on caste toward government official Relative of village chief in Odisha charged with using caste-based insults against public servant

In the town of Keonjhar, a serious incident has taken place involving the sarpanch (head) of Pandado Gram Panchayat and a woman named Urmila Murmu, who is the Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) there. According to Murmu, the sarpanch's elder brother-in-law, Nikunja Bihari Ojha, threatened her and used derogatory language based on her caste. This led to the Nandipada police station registering an FIR against him on Saturday.

Sasmita Ojha, the sarpanch, and Urmila Murmu, the PEO, both work at the Pandalo Gram Panchayat. However, Murmu claims that Ojha has never come to the Panchayat office since she was elected and instead conducts all official work from her own home. On September 4, 2024, when Murmu visited Ojha's house for some official work, Nikunja stopped her on her way back and used casteist slurs against her. He also threatened her for visiting the sarpanch's residence, even though she is a member of a Scheduled Tribe. Murmu also stated in the FIR that Nikunja forcefully took away some government files she was carrying.

Later, Nikunja and another man named Surendra Raut went to Murmu's house and repeated the threats and abuses. This led Murmu, along with other members of the Hatadihi PEO association, to make a written complaint to the Block Development Officer, Soumyashree Panigrahi. They also warned that they would go on a "pendown" strike if the accused was not arrested immediately. Panigrahi then instructed the Nandipada police station to file an FIR and take action on September 6.

This incident has caused quite a stir in Keonjhar and has raised concerns about the safety and security of government officials, especially those belonging to marginalized communities. The authorities have assured that strict action will be taken against the accused and that steps will be taken to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. The police are currently investigating the matter and we hope that justice will be served.

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