Bhubaneswar: Activists of Odisha Youth Congress tried to gherao the official residence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday demanding justice in the alleged gangrape of a minor girl near Dhauli recently.
Holding banners and placards, the demonstrators, led by state president Ranjit Patra, took out a march towards the CM’s residence on the AG Square-Raj Bhavan road.
Notably, a 17-year-old college student was allegedly gangraped near Dhauli hills on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on December 10.
When police personnel prevented stopped them midway, the protesters hurled eggs at the police force. The police detained several Youth Congress activists and dispersed the protestors.
Sources said the Youth Congress workers raised slogans against the state government and the Chief Minister alleging inaction in the Dhauli case and demanding justice. The situation turned tense as the protestors resorted to pelting eggs towards the security personnel deployed at the spot. Police detained several Youth Congress members and around 20-25 activists of the outfit were taken into preventive custody to prevent escalation. The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) reached the spot to assess the situation and supervised crowd control measures.
According to the Youth Congress leaders, their protest was to highlight the alleged lack of urgency by the Home Department in delivering swift justice for the survivor. The party alleged that the response of the Odisha Government has been insufficient in response to a serious crime which forced them to take to the streets. The administration has failed to send a stringent message to crimes against minors. They also condemned the police action against them as an attempt to silence voices against the establishment.
The protest has turned into a political slugfest with BJP reacting strongly and dismissing it as politically motivated. Odisha BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal said, “This is just drama. The Congress which is facing an existential crisis and is on the verge of a split has resorted to such measures to deflect attention.
The BJP also questioned the intent behind the protest stating that action has been taken on a mission mode. Speaking on the Dhauli case Biswal said the perpetrators have been arrested. All action including recreation of the crime scene and arrest of the prime accused were taken swiftly. The case has been categorised as “Red Flag” to provide speedy justice to the victim, he said.
Earlier, the Commissionerate Police had recreated the crime scene at the Daya River embankment under Dhauli Police limits in this case of the gangrape of a minor girl. The recreation was carried out in the presence of the prime accused Satya Prakash Hati to verify the sequence of events leading up to gruesome crime and collect corroborative evidence. A joint team of Special Squad and Dhauli Police arrested Hati from Ganjam after he absconded following the incident.
The alleged gangrape incident took place on December 10 in which a minor girl was allegedly sexually assaulted after she and her male friend were intercepted by 3 men near Dhauli on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. This crime has sent shockwaves across the state over the safety of minors and women
