The Odisha government officials in Mayurbhanj district on Monday wore black badges to protest against Union minister for tribal affairs and Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu’s alleged assault on two government officials in his party office at Baripada on Friday.

One of the officials sustained injuries in his left hand. Tudu is the sitting BJP MP from the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat.

A case has been registered against Tudu for allegedly beating up two Odisha government officials. Tudu had reportedly beaten the two officials after they failed to procure a file concerning the utilisation of MPLAD funds during his meeting with them.

One of the assaulted officials sustained a fracture in his left hand. The incident took place at Baripada in the Mayurbhanj district on Friday. A case has been lodged against the minister under different sections of IPC voluntarily causing hurt, voluntarily causing grievous hurt, wrongful restraint, obscene act in any public place and criminal intimidation. The two officials who earned the wrath of the minister are assistant director, district planning board (Mayurbhanj) Debasis Mohapatra and deputy director, district planning board (Mayurbhanj) Aswini Kumar Mallick

Odisha’s minister for revenue and disaster Sudam Marandi, who hails from Mayurbhanj, said: “Being a leader, Tudu should be polite in his approach. The Central government should immediately sack him from the ministry. If the Centre fails to take any action, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will hit the streets on the issue.”

Earlier in October, officers of the Odisha Administrative Cadre, (the state civil service cadre) in the Mayurbhanj district had protested against Tudu’s disrespectful remarks about them and his alleged threat of physical assault. They had even protested by wearing black badges and had organised a silent march.

Union minister Tudu, who had already denied his involvement in the attack, has left for Delhi.