The police administration has egg on its face even as the BJD and BJP indulged in a spat over the antecedents of the youth who had hurled shoes at Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Bijepur on 20 February.

Shockingly, the inspector in charge of Padmapur police station Jashobanta Pradhani contradicted his senior sub divisional police officer’s earlier statement that the youth Kartik Meher who had hurled the shoes at the CM had links with the BJP/RSS.

The ruling BJD and BJP lashed out at each other over the two contradictory statements made by the two policemen. The BJP vehemently denied the charge saying Kartik does not belong to the party. Yesterday, the IIC Pradhani told media persons that Kartik was mentally unstable and he had no political background.

It provided the handle to the BJP to hit back at the BJD.The BJP showed old clippings of Kartik climbing atop a building threatening to jump and waiving a black flag at the CM in 2014. The police has now said he is not of stable mind, said the BJP while alleging that the BJD had deliberately accused the BJP to gain sympathy votes.

The police and intelligence has failed in protecting the CM, remarked Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. But by evening things there were another twist to the tale and the IIC Pradhani retraced its earlier statement by telling media persons that he had been misled by BJP workers in describing Kartik as mentally erratic. “I don’t know Kartik and am not aware of his political background,” said the IIC. The IIC’s about turn was apparently under pressure.

At Bhubaneswar, the BJD petitioned the DGP seeking exemplary action against those who had instigated the youth to hurl shoes at the CM. The BJD also staged a protest dharna and a candle light protest. In the entire episode, the police administration cut a very sorry figure.

It is not for the first time in recent months that the police has exposed itself. The Kunduli gangrape issue, the murder of a elected ruling BJD civic body leader in Chhatrapur where it suddenly stopped short of tracing who had booked the hideout for the culprits in Uttarakhand, farmer Bruda Sahu’s suicide when investigations to allegations levelled by a Minister were left without probe, are a few incidences where the much proclaimed ‘insulation of the police administration from political interference’ has taken a beating.

Intelligence wings have also failed to forewarn about eggs or shoes and even political activists barging into the residence of a bureaucrat. The lack of coordination amongst the top cops, said to be due to a cadre increase related issue, has led to such a situation say a few officers while others believe that worse is the follow in the coming days as a major political party has turned aggressive and will continue to do so.