Assault On Census Officials: What Happened In Odisha's Dhenkanal?

A team of Census officials, including two women, were allegedly assaulted in Odisha's Dhenkanal district while conducting data collection, prompting a police investigation.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Key Points

Four Census officials were allegedly assaulted in Dhenkanal district, Odisha, during data collection.
The incident occurred in the Mahimanagar area of Kamakshyanagar Notified Area Council.
The Census team was attacked by a family despite showing official identity cards.
Police have detained two suspects and are investigating the assault on the Census officials.
Injured officials reported being attacked with stones and verbally abused during the Census exercise.

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.

Investigation Launched After Census Team Assault

"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.

Details of the Attack on Census Workers

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.

The Census of India is conducted every 10 years and is the primary source of information about the country's population. The data collected is used for planning and policy making by the government. Assaulting public officials carrying out their duties is a criminal offence, and police in India typically register a First Information Report (FIR) to begin an investigation.

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