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Four Census officials, including two women, were assaulted by the members of a family in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district when they entered their premises for the house listing and housing census exercise , an official said.
According to PTI, In another incident in Khurda district, a woman enumerator was threatened by a man after she reached his home for the same purpose.
Odisha had earlier appealed to citizens to actively cooperate with the upcoming Census exercise, with house listing operations scheduled to commence from April 16 across the state.
In a video message, the Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi urged people to participate in the process, including the ongoing self-enumeration drive being conducted ahead of the door-to-door survey.
“I have completed my self-enumeration. You too should do it. If you have not yet submitted your information, please do so and cooperate in the Census,” he said.
Expressing concern over the matter, the state government said it would formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) to safeguard census officials from physical harm and heat-related risks.
The first 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.
“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 members 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.
