Nabarangpur: A Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) allegedly beat up a woman clerk and pushed her from her chair, resulting in injuries to the latter. The bizarre incident was reported by the Child Development Project Office at Dabugaon in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district on Saturday.
A video of the incident went viral on several social media platforms.
According to reports, CDPO Gitanjali Maharana and head clerk Santoshi Mishra got into a heated argument over an issue, and it took an ugly turn when Maharana lost her cool and pushed Mishra from her seat. Attempts by other staff to intervene and prevent Maharana’s misconduct notwithstanding, she did not stop hurling abuse at the head clerk.
Someone captured the entire incident on video and uploaded it on a social media platform. The video quickly went viral, drawing widespread criticism.
Later, Mishra claimed that Maharana abused and physically assaulted her for participating in a strike and threatened to mark the day as leave. On the other hand, Mishra defended herself by stating that she had arrived at the office, signed the attendance register, and did not take part in any strike.
CDPO Maharana, however, refuted the allegations of physical assault on the head clerk saying that on returning from an area visit, Mishra approached her in a raised voice regarding a salary issue. As a meeting was already in progress, Maharana said she requested Mishra to leave the room.
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Secretary PK Jena has directed the concerned officials to initiate immediate action against the guilty. He directed the WCD and Nabarangpur district Collector to look into the shameful incident and initiate stringent actions.
