A team of Census officials, including two women, were allegedly assaulted in Odisha's Dhenkanal district while conducting data collection, prompting a police investigation.
Four Census officials, including two women, were allegedly assaulted in Odisha's Dhenkanal district on Wednesday, police said.
The incident happened in the Mahimanagar area of Kamakshyanagar Notified Area Council (NAC) in the morning, when a team comprising three enumerators and one supervisor had gone to collect data as part of the Census exercise that began on April 16, they said.
"Our four Census staff members were injured in the attack by three persons, a man and his two sons. Police are probing the incident, and strict action will be taken against the attackers," Kamakshyanagar sub-collector Dinamani Nayak said.
The two sons have been detained following the incident, he said.
The Census officials alleged that the family attacked them as soon as they entered their house, despite being shown official identity cards and informed about the purpose of their visit.
"They asked why we had entered their premises. Even after we showed our identity cards and explained the purpose, they attacked us with stones. I suffered injuries on my face, and my two-wheeler was damaged," said Madhusmita Behera, one of the officials.
Another official, Raghunath Dixit, alleged that the family assaulted them without provocation, besides verbally abusing them.
Dixit said he sustained an injury on a finger.