Bandh Over Gang Rape In Konark Cripples Life

Konark: Life came to a standstill in Konark on Friday following a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh call given by BJP Mahila Morcha, demanding the arrest of the prime accused in the gang rape of a Bengali woman.

she was rescued from a room in the Konark market complex area in a critical condition on October 17.

All trading establishments, educational institutions and government offices remained closed while vehicular traffic came to a grinding halt due to the bandh.

Passenger are having a harrowing time as all private and tourists buses from Konark to Puri, Bhubaneswar and Kakatpur have been detained by the BJP activists.

The bandh call given by the BJP Mahila Morcha is supported by the party’s frontal wings of the students and youths.

Led by the president of the Mahila Morcha, Pravati Parida, the BJP activists staged blockades at several places in Konark. Earlier in the day, the BJP Yuva Morcha activists took out a bike rally in the town.

The Mahila Morcha has demanded that Konark be made a sex-racket free area and urged the police to immediately arrest the prime accused, who was running a racket in the town.

Notably, one Subash Behera had lured a woman from West Bengal to visit the Sun Temple at Konark. After she arrived at Konark on October 7, he took her to a room in the market complex of the town in the night where she was gang-raped by a dozen of men.

On being informed, police rescued the woman on October 17 and admitted her to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition.

Following the statement of the victim, police later arrested six persons and produced them in the court.

However, the kingpin of the sex racket is still at large.