BJP, Cong demand dismissal of S&ME minister in BJD leader death case

Opposition BJP and Congress on Wednesday intensified their demand for dismissal and arrest of Odishas School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash for his alleged role in the mysterious death of a Biju Janata Dal Zilla Parishad member of Puri district.Both the parties intensified the agitation a day after an audio clip of deceased Dharmendra Sahoo, the ZP member of Nimapara area in Puri district, went viral.

Opposition BJP and Congress on Wednesday intensified their demand for dismissal and arrest of Odisha’s School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash for his alleged role in the mysterious death of a Biju Janata Dal Zilla Parishad member of Puri district.

Both the parties intensified the agitation a day after an audio clip of deceased Dharmendra Sahoo, the ZP member of Nimapara area in Puri district, went viral. The audio clip, which was not verified by the PTI, however, named five persons including the minister for allegedly abetting suicide by the 48-year-old ZP member.

However, the minister has earlier rejected all the allegations and said that he does not feel it justified to reply to the opposition allegations.

The activists of the NSUI, Odisha unit, staged a demonstration here and hurled eggs and tomatoes at the official residence of the minister. They demanded immediate dismissal of Dash from the council of ministers.

''We have hurled eggs and tomatoes at the residence of the minister and will further intensify stir and march towards the chief minister’s residence, if action is not taken in seven days,'' said NSUI state president Yasir Nawaz.

The agitators were later taken into custody following a scuffle with police while attempting to barge into Dash’s house.

Meanwhile, opposition BJP also staged road blockade at Nimapara, Pipili and Balipatna areas and burnt effigies of the minister demanding his dismissal from the ministry.

''There should be no doubt over the involvement of the minister in the Sahoo death case after the audio tape. The deceased has directly named the minister,'' said BJP Krushak Morcha president Pradip Purohit.

BJP state vice-president Pravati Parida also demanded immediate arrest and dismissal of the minister.

Dharmendra Sahoo was found hanging at his residence in Sishupalgarh area on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Saturday. He represented the Zilla Parishad Zone-11 under the Gop block in Puri district.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)