Jajpur PEO Death: Odisha BJP Sniffs Plot To Destroy Evidence In Rangasala Demolition

Jajpur: A day after the demolition of Rangasala, the guest house in Jajpur district where Haridaspur panchayat executive officer (PEO) Smitarani Biswal was found dead under mysterious circumstances on October 16 last year, the BJP on Saturday alleged that the district administration has deliberately done it to destroy evidence.

BJP state general secretary Lekhasri Samantsinghar said that the district administration should clarify who gave the instruction to demolish Rangasala. “If Rangasala was demolished in accordance with the rules, Smitarani would not have died a premature death. It is now clear that the efforts are on to destroy the evidence while the investigation is underway,” she told mediapersons at the BJP headquarters here.

The BJP leader also said that police and the district administration must give a clarification on the CCTV cameras which were installed at the guest house. “Soon after the death of Smitarani, the CCTV cameras had gone missing from Rangasala. We want to know where are these CCTV cameras now,” she asked.

Claiming that the Jajpur SP, Charan Singh Meena, has not conducted an impartial probe into the incident due to the pressure by the highest office in the state secretariat, Lekhasri said the state government, for an eyewash, has made the Revenue Inspector a scapegoat by suspending him from service while giving a clean chit to the local tehsildar and the BDO, who were allegedly involved in this incident.

She also asked why instead of seizing the articles from Rangasala, police have handed them over the wife of Rupesh Bhadra, the prime accused in the death of Smitarani.

“The BJP had demanded a CBI probe and the chairperson of the State Commission for Women had recommended a Crime Branch probe into the incident. But the state government is yet to take any action,” she added.

However, senior BJD leader and minister of state for Home, Dibya Shankar Mishra refuted the BJP’s allegations. “The police are thoroughly investigating into the incident and action will be taken against the guilty,” Mishra said.

The minister claimed that there has been a drastic change in the attitude and behaviour of police after the launch of the Mo Sarkar programme and the 5T initiative by the state government.