Bhubaneswar: Three faculty members of Government Polytechnic, Jajpur, have been suspended at the behest of chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi for their alleged involvement in a scuffle and other acts of misconduct during and after a departmental meeting on Oct 13.According to a release issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Wednesday, senior lecturer Nrusingha Charan Behera and lecturers Sandeep Mahapatra and P Aradhana allegedly got engaged in heated arguments, which escalated into a scuffle and other acts of misconduct.Polytechnic principal Abhaya Kumar Mallick said Behera and Mahapatra, both faculty members of the electrical discipline, got into an argument during a department development meeting, following which the two allegedly assaulted each other.Aradhana, a metallurgy faculty member and Mahapatra’s wife, allegedly threw dirty water from a toilet at Behera during the scuffle, Mallick said.A video of the incident went viral on social media and came to the CMO’s notice. The Directorate of Technical Education subsequently conducted an inquiry into the incident. Based on its report, the chief minister directed the suspension of all three faculty members and initiation of disciplinary proceedings against them.A day after the incident, Behera, the head of the electrical department, lodged an FIR at the local Korei police station, alleging that Mahapatra and his wife Aradhana abused him and made casteist remarks against him.Behera further alleged that Aradhana poured dirty water on him after bringing it from a toilet, in the presence of students and other staff members.Acting on his complaint, police registered a case against the couple under Section 3 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The couple subsequently lodged a counter-complaint against Behera, alleging that he had abused them, following which police registered a case against him.“No one has been arrested so far in either case. An investigation is underway,” said inspector in charge of Korei police station Rakesh Kumar Tripathy.The CMO release said their alleged conduct in the presence of students was unbecoming of members of the teaching profession, tarnished the institution’s image and adversely affected its academic environment.(With inputs from Ashis Senapati)