Odisha govt orders probe into BDO’s misbehaviour with migrant workers

Odisha government on Thursday ordered a probe into an incident of alleged misbehaviour by a block development officer (BDO) with migrant workers in Balasore district.

The migrant workers had returned to Odisha from Gujarat.

The government’s move came after a video of the BDO of Baliapal block of Balasore shouting at and verbally abusing a group of migrant workers, who had returned from Surat on Wednesday, went viral on the social media triggering a row.

The video went viral on Wednesday evening.

With the incident drawing sharp criticism from different quarters, Union Minister Pratap Sarangi, who represents Balasore in the Lok Sabha, said on Thursday that it was "inhuman" on the part of the woman officer to throw tantrums at workers when they requested for water.

The video clip showed the Odisha Administrative Officer (OAS), who is also the nodal officer for COVID-19 in the block, ordering migrant workers to "shut up" when they made queries about arrangements made for them.

The visibly angry BDO was seen losing her temper and shouting at over 50 workers who had asked for water and sought to know about arrangements made for their quarantine. They had reached Balasore by train and then went to Baliapal.

The officer was also seen in the video clip verbally abusing the workers outside her office and telling them that she was an OAS officer with powers to do anything.

Some of the workers alleged that there was utter mismanagement and they were forced to wait for quite some time after reaching Baliapal.

As no one guided them to any quarantine centre, they had approached the officer, the workers said.

State Panchayati Raj Minister Pratap Jena on Thursday said the government is aware of the incident and the district collector of Balasore has been asked to conduct an inquiry into the episode and submit a report.

Once the report is received, appropriate action will be taken based on the findings, he said.

Sarangi said, “The arrogance and inhumanity are at its height. The government must look into it."

The BDO has denied the allegation and said she had got angry as some migrant workers had behaved improperly and indulged in unnecessary arguments.

The charges were levelled as part of a "malicious plan" to defame her, the officer claimed.