A Block Development Officer in tribal dominated Bolangir district was rescued today hours after his dramatic abduction from his office by a group of miscreants led by vice chairman of the local panchayatiraj body.

At around 4 pm, a group of 10-12 persons led by Puintala panchayat samiti vice chairman Raghunath Gurandi barged into the office of the Puintala BDO Saroj Mishra and dragged him out of the office before pushing him into a SUV.

“Before anyone could react, Gurandi and others had fled the spot. We could identify the accused after verifying the CCTV footage in the BDO’s office as well as the number of the vehicle that was used for abduction,” said Bolangir superintendent of police K Shiva Subramani.

Mishra was rescued by police later this evening. He was examined by the doctors. He is in a state of trauma,” said Bolangir district collector Arindam Dakua.

The incident took place hardly 200 meter from the local police station. As the lunch break had just got over, there were hardly any staffers at the office when the BDO was abducted.

Police said Gurandi and his accomplices will be arrested soon. Though police refused to say anything, sources said the act was a fallout of a tender and contract dispute.

Mishra, a state administrative officer, belongs to Bargarh district and was posted in Puintala in August 2018.

First Published: Mar 30, 2019 10:00 IST