Bhubaneswar: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday lashed out at the BJP government in Odisha over the alleged gangrape of a 20-year-old woman on Gopalpur beach and claimed that violence against women is increasing with every passing day in the state.
The 20-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped at an isolated place on the Gopalpur beach, a prominent tourist destination in Odisha, police said. A case was registered at the Gopalpur police station after the survivor, an undergraduate student of a private college, lodged an FIR on Monday. Ten persons, including four juveniles, have been held by the police in connection with the incident.
In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said the strongest words are not enough to condemn the brutality that was meted out to a student by 10 men at Gopalpur in Odisha.
“Violence against women is increasing by every passing day in Odisha. In a state where the chief minister himself admits that about 44,000 women and children have disappeared in the last five years, not giving priority to women’s safety is in itself an atrocity against women,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Wednesday staged a demonstration before the chief minister’s residence here, holding the state government responsible for the rise in crimes against women in the state.
The incident took place on Sunday night when the woman, who lives in a private mess along with other women, went to the beach along with her male friend, on the occasion of the Raja festival.
The woman, in her complaint, said when they were sitting at an isolated place, a group of ten miscreants approached them, detained and assaulted her boyfriend and three of them took turns to rape her.