Bhubaneswar: Bees attack Cong workers during protest against IAS officer

Bhubaneswar:  The workers of Odisha Chhatra Congress and Yuva Congress were attacked by a swarm of bees during their protest near the residence of senior IAS officer and principal secretary in the SC/ST welfare and Odisha language department, Bishnupada Sethi here on Monday.

The Congress workers were demanding the arrest of the senior bureaucrat over his alleged involvement in the Rs 10 lakh bribery case.

As per reports, the winged insects attacked the workers as someone disturbed a beehive on a tree near Sethi’s residence in the city.

The sudden attack of bees forced the protesters to run away from the place. The police personnel deployed at the spot and journalists reporting the protest were also forced to duck on the ground to save themselves from the attack.

However, the protestors again returned to the spot when the bees calmed down after a few minutes to continue their protest.

Meanwhile, Congress Leader Yasir Nawaz alleged that Bishnupada Sethi has been involved in corrupt practices in every department he worked in since the rule of the previous BJD-led government.

Nawaz alleged that many blacklisted firms have been granted tenders by the corrupt officers.

He urged the BJP government to immediately arrest the senior IAS officer Sethi for his alleged involvement in the Rs 10 lakh bribery case. The Congress leader also questioned as to why Sethi is not appearing before CBI despite the summons.

“Corruption in Odisha can’t be checked unless officers like Sethi are arrested. I request Chief Minister Mohan Majhi-led BJP government to put such corrupt officers behind the bars to make Odisha Corruption-free,” added Nawaz.

It is pertinent here to mention politics in the heated up in state following the issuance of summons to the senior IAS officer and his drivers in connection with the high profile bribery case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on December 7 caught the Group General Manager (GGM) of Bridge and Roof Co. (India) Limited, a Central Government PSU under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Chanchal Mukherjee red-handed while receiving Rs 10 lakh bribe from the director of a city-based private company, Santosh Moharana. The middleman Debadutta Mohapatra has also been apprehended in the case.

–IANS