Mon Jun 30 02:05:18 UTC 2025: ## Odisha Police Officer Under Fire for ‘Break Their Legs’ Order at Protest
**Bhubaneswar, Odisha** – A senior Odisha police officer is facing scrutiny after a video surfaced online showing him instructing personnel to “break the legs” of protestors who breached a barricade outside Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s residence. The instruction was given to officers guarding the perimeter during a protest by Congress party workers demonstrating against alleged crowd mismanagement following a deadly stampede in Puri.
The stampede, which occurred near Puri’s Shree Gundicha temple during a Rath Yatra related ceremony on Sunday, resulted in three deaths and 50 injuries. Congress protestors claim negligence led to the tragedy.
In the viral video, Bhubaneswar Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Narasingha Bhol can be seen pointing at a barbed wire barricade and instructing officers, “If anybody reaches here, break their leg. Don’t catch them, just break their legs. We are standing there to catch them. Whoever breaks a leg, come to me and take a reward.”
The ACP’s comments have drawn widespread condemnation, with many questioning the proportionality and legality of such an instruction.
Mr. Bhol, when contacted by NDTV, claimed his statement was “taken out of context.” He argued that the protesters had already broken the law by breaching previous barricades and participating in an unlawful assembly. “We are free to apply maximum force to stop unlawful assembly,” he stated. He claims his intention was to detain protesters at the first barricade and his instructions applied only to those who had already bypassed two barriers.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has launched an administrative investigation into the Puri stampede. Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan announced that Development Commissioner Anu Garg will submit a report to the Chief Minister within 30 days, promising “stern action” against those responsible.
According to Puri’s Chief District Medical Officer Kishore Satapathy, all those injured in the stampede have been discharged from the government health facility.
The incident involving ACP Bhol has raised serious questions about police conduct and the handling of protests in Odisha, adding to the pressure on the newly elected government to address the aftermath of the tragic stampede.
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