Odisha Law Minister slams Oppn for ‘politicising’ crimes against women

Bhubaneswar, Sep 24 Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Wednesday came down heavily on the opposition Biju Janata Dal for doing politics on sensitive incidents like sexual abuse on women in the Odisha Assembly.

Speaking in the State Assembly on the adjournment motion moved by BJD legislators over the gruesome murder of a woman traffic constable by her policeman husband, the minister further claimed that incidents of crime against women in the state have come down since the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party assumed power.

In a startling revelation in the case of brutal murder of the lady constable Subhamitra Sahoo, Harichandan also informed on Wednesday that the accused husband Deepak Kumar Rout had also killed his first wife and later proved it a case of road mishap in 2022.

The minister said Rout had married his first wife, Aparna Priyadarshini, in 2018, and in 2022, murdered her to usurp insurance money.

He alleged that at the time, the then BJD government was in power.

Though the death was reported as a truck accident, later investigation revealed that the truck was not at the spot on the day of the incident, raising questions over why Aparna’s murder was hushed up and whose interests were served by covering up the crime.

Speaking to media persons outside the House, Harichandan said: “The then state government couldn’t collect any evidence against him (accused Rout) in the 2022 murder case. He went scot-free and later rejoined duty. He had served in the police force here in Bhubaneswar for 16 years. The truck mentioned by the accused husband as being involved in the road mishap in which his first wife died was actually not at the accident spot.”

He also informed the reporters that order has been issued for re-investigation of the murder angle into the road mishap case registered at the Khuntuni police station in Cuttack.

During his speech on the adjournment motion, Harichandan also highlighted that the state recorded a significant decrease in incidents of crime against women under various categories—including sexual harassment, public disrobing, stalking, acid attacks, and trafficking—after the BJP assumed power, between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, compared to the number of such incidents during the same period from July 2023 to June 2024.

“Our government has always given top priority to the safety of women. In particular, we are committed to ensuring speedy justice for victims of sexual abuse cases,” said Harichandan in Assembly.

In support of his statement, he cited the example of a sexual abuse case under the jurisdiction of Brajarajnagar police station, in which the culprits were sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment each within 55 days of the case being registered.

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