Bhubaneswar: Amid brickbats over Cuttack communal clashes & brutal murder of a lawyer in Berhampur, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday chaired a crucial high-level meeting to review the law and order situation across Odisha.
According to official sources, the discussions centered on enhancing intelligence coordination, improving rapid response systems, and ensuring public safety in sensitive regions. The meeting aims to bolster public confidence and maintain law and order amid growing security concerns in major urban areas and district headquarters in view of upcoming Kali Puja, Diwali celebrations and Bali Jatra.
Senior officers, including the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police (DGP), Home Secretary, Director (Intelligence), and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner, are in attendance.
The clashes in Cuttack during the Durga Puja idol immersion ceremony came as an embarrassment for the BJP government and CM Majhi when it spiralled with VHP’s face-off with police, resulting in a curfew in the city after almost 3 decades. As Cuttack was limping back to normalcy, a senior lawyer, Pitabas Panda, who is also a BJP leader, was gunned down by unidentified assailants while standing near his house at Brahma Nagar area of Berhampur town in full public glare on Monday night.
These incident gave the Opposition more ammo to target the ruling dispensation over the law of order situation in the state, which it alleged has deteriorated since the BJP government took office. “…Cuttack is a city of brotherhood where Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians all live together in harmony, and there’s never a problem during festivals. What happened in Cuttack is extremely unfortunate…This government can neither tackle the law and order situation nor can it handle the atrocities against women…Since the BJP government has come to power, the crime rate has increased…,” BJD MP Sulata Deo told ANI.
Meanwhile, Bar Council of India (BCI) has demanded for setting up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the lawyer’s murder in a time-bound manner. Lawyers across Odisha also staged a “pen down” protest.
