Bhubaneswar, Aug 8 The opposition Indian National Congress on Friday staged a protest at the office of the Director General of Police (DGP), Odisha, in Cuttack, demanding justice for the victims of the three recent self-immolation deaths in different parts of the state.
Speaking to media persons on Friday, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das said the party had earlier given a seven-day ultimatum to the state government and the Odisha Police to arrest the three miscreants who allegedly set a 16-year-old girl from the Balanga area of Puri district on fire on July 19.
The girl later succumbed to the burn injuries while undergoing treatment at the AIIMS, New Delhi, on August 2, after a 14-day-long battle for life.
Das further stated that, since the police failed to arrest the accused, the party has been staging a gherao of the DGP's office on Friday.
"Police should not come under the influence of politicians and must arrest all the accused. If they fail to do so even after the gherao of the DGP office, then all police stations across the state will be gheraoed," warned the OPCC president.
Das alleged that the police are trying to shield the culprits under pressure from their political bosses.
He also claimed that incidents of crime against women are on the rise in the state due to the lack of action against the perpetrators. The OPCC president, in a letter to DGP, Odisha, on Friday, demanded that police immediately initiate an investigation - based on the statements of the Balanga victim and her parents - and arrest all three accused.
The party also called for action against those responsible for the failure to register an FIR in the case of a female student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, who had lodged a complaint of sexual harassment against a faculty member.
Failing to get justice, the FM college female student committed self-immolation near the Principal's chamber on July 12. She later succumbed while undergoing treatment at the AIIMS, Bhubaneswar.
Additionally, the Opposition Congress demanded strict action against the police official who allegedly failed to receive the complaint of a girl who died by self-immolation in the Pattamundai area of Kendrapara district on August 6, reportedly due to blackmail by her former boyfriend.
The Congress party also stated that steps should be taken immediately to implement the ‘Zero FIR’ policy announced by the Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
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