Pratik Das, Pune
A state government employee of Odisha Raj Bhawan has claimed that he was assaulted by the son of Governor Raghubar Das during President Droupadi Murmu’s visit to Puri last week.
Baikunthanath Pradhan, an assistant section officer from the state parliamentary affairs department assigned to the Raj Bhavan, complained to the governor’s secretary, Saswat Mishra, alleging that Lalit Das, the son of Governor Raghubar Das, assaulted him in Puri Raj Bhavan on the night of July 7 along with five others, including his security officers.
President Droupadi Murmu was at Puri Raj Bhavan between July 7 afternoon and July 8 morning for the Rath Yatra festival. Being the in-Charge of Raj Bhavan, Puri, Pradhan was there since July 5 to supervise the preparations at Raj Bhavan for the visit of President Murmu.
Pradhan, in his complaint to the governor’s secretary, claimed that Lalit Kumar assaulted him on the night of July 7 while he was on duty.
“On the night of July 7th, around 11:45 P.M., while I was in the office room, the personal cook of the Odisha Governor, Aakash Singh, approached me and said that Lalit Kumar wanted to see me in Suite No. 4. When I arrived, Lalit Kumar began slapping me and using abusive language. Feeling desperate, I fled the room and hid behind the Annexe building. However, Lalit Kumar’s two PSOs found me and dragged me back to Room No. 4 via the lift. Security personnel and others present witnessed the incident. They continued to slap me, punch my face, kick every part of my body, and twist my left ankle.” said Pradhan. Pradhan claimed that Lalit Kumar threatened to kill him if he disclosed the incident to anyone.
While Lalit Das was unavailable for comment, an aide to the governor called the entire incident a conspiracy. “The issue is between the Raj Bhavan cook and the complainant. There have been several problems with him in the past. However, the governor’s son is not involved in any way,” the aide stated.