Odisha: Ink thrown on CM’s private secretary, Puri collector; accused held

The Congress and the BJP have alleged that the officer has been violating all norms and acting like a politician

Private secretary to chief minister Naveen Patnaik, VK Pandian, and Puri district collector Samarth Verma were splashed with ink by an unknown miscreant in Odisha’s Puri district on Saturday during a college function that the officials attended, police said.

The incident took place during a college function in Odisha’s Puri district (HT Photo)

Police officials in Puri said Pandian and Verma were attending a programme at Utkalamani Gopabandhu Smruti College in the Sakshigopal area on Saturday when a man sneaked through the crowd and splashed a bottle of ink on them.

“We have apprehended the person who threw ink on the officers,” said a police official present at the spot.

Last month, eggs were hurled by activists of the Aam Aadmi Party at Pandian’s carcade in the Sonepur district.

Pandian is a 2000-batch IAS officer who also oversees state government 5T (teamwork, technology, transparency, transformation and time limit) initiatives.

The official has been on a whirlwind tour of the state overseeing the progress of various developmental projects over the last few months, triggering sharp reactions from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, who allege that Pandian is more of a “super chief minister”.

The Congress and the BJP have alleged that the officer has been violating all norms and acting like a politician.

Recently, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi and Congress leader Bijay Patnaik petitioned the central government’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) seeking punitive action against the IAS officer over alleged violation of All India Service (Conduct) Rules.

Sarangi had accused the Pandian of violating All India service rules, conducting public meetings and announcing new government schemes.