Odisha pharmacist suspended for clicking pictures with President Murmu’s chopper

A pharmacist posted at Jamukeswar CHC, Jaswant Behera, has been suspended by Mayurbhanj CDMO for breaching security blanket and taking selfies with President Droupadi Murmu’s chopper.

Even as the controversy over the power outage during President Droupadi Murmu's event in Odisha's Baripada rages on, the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) of Mayurbhanj has punished a chemist for photographing the President's chopper, an official said on Monday.

According to the source, CDMO Dr Rupabhanu Mishra suspended chemist Jashobanta Behera for taking selfies with the President's helicopter and uploading them on Facebook. Behera was part of the President's medical entourage during her visit to Similipal National Park on May 5.

"I only posted a few photos on my Facebook account for the sake of memory and entertainment. I had no intention of doing anything else. However, I obtained verbal consent from certain air force men assigned to protect the chopper. I wanted to keep the photos as a memory because such a great personality as the President Madam had come to the district and I was on duty at the helipad," the chemist explained.

He claimed to have removed the photos from his Facebook account. The event occurred on May 5, when the President visited the district's Similipal National Park on her second day of the tour. The photos were obtained with cell phones near the chopper.

Meanwhile, the power outage at the President's programme at the Maharaja Sriramachandra Bhanja Deo University convocation has turned into a political squabble, with the opposition BJP demanding an apology from the chief minister for leaving the country's first citizen in the dark for about nine minutes while she delivered the convocation address.

Bisheswar Tudu, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Tribal Affairs, has asked that the Mayurbhanj District Collector and university vice-chancellor be fired immediately.

The BJP's Mayurbhanj district unit has also criticised the state administration over the power outage at the President's event. The opposition party has also called for a high-level investigation into the situation. The BJP also suspects sabotage in order to embarrass the President.

(With PTI inputs)