Bhubaneswar, Jan 20 The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Odisha Assembly and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president, Naveen Patnaik, on Tuesday expressed deep anguish over the recent killing of a youth belonging to a minority community over allegations of illegal cattle smuggling in Balasore district of the state.
Patnaik revealed his anguish during a meeting of senior party leaders at Naveen Niwas here. Following the instructions of the BJD president, a delegation of party leaders on Tuesday visited Balasore to enquire into the alleged killing of Seikh Makarand Muhamad, who hailed from Astia village under Balasore Sadar police limits.
Speaking to the media, senior BJD leader Sanjay Das Burma alleged that such a heinous incident has never occurred in the peaceful state of Odisha since Independence.
“The BJD president has expressed deep anguish over the incident, and as per his instructions, a high-level delegation led by MP Sulata Deo, senior leader and former minister Prafulla Samal, and Bhadrak Municipality chairperson Gulmaki Habib today visited the residence of the deceased, Muhamad, in Balasore, where they will meet his family members and the district police authorities,” Das Burma stated.
He further alleged that the killing of the minority youth was a stark example of the collapsed law-and-order situation in the state and the rise in attacks on minorities after the double-engine government came to power in the state.
Das Burma also noted that the regional party has condemned the incident in Balasore in the strongest terms. He said the BJD supremo wanted to know all the details regarding the incident.
The president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), Bhakta Charan Das, has also targeted the state government, alleging that atrocities against minorities, Dalits, and tribals have increased after the BJP assumed power.
Notably, the family members of the deceased, who was a helper of a pick-up van, alleged that he sustained serious injuries after being attacked by some cow vigilantes on January 14. Upon being informed, the local police reached the spot and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
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