Lady teacher’s murder: BJP, Cong intensify stir across Odisha demanding minister’s ouster

While the saffron party organised a 12-hour bandh in Sambalpur district demanding the removal of the minister, the youth and students wings of the Congress staged protests near the State Police Headquarters in Cuttack and attempted to gherao Naveen Niwas, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaiks residence here.The saffron party had observed bandhs in Kalahandi, Bolangir, and Mayurbhanj districts in a span of seven days demanding the arrest of the Minister of State for Home D S Mishra for allegedly patronising the prime accused in the 24-year-old school teachers murder case.

The opposition BJP and Congress on Tuesday intensified their state-wide stir in Odisha to press the demand for the sacking of minister D S Mishra for his alleged close link with the prime accused in the kidnap and murder of a lady teacher in Kalahandi district. While the saffron party organised a 12-hour bandh in Sambalpur district demanding the removal of the minister, the youth and students' wings of the Congress staged protests near the State Police Headquarters in Cuttack and attempted to gherao 'Naveen Niwas', Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's residence here.

The saffron party had observed bandhs in Kalahandi, Bolangir, and Mayurbhanj districts in a span of seven days demanding the arrest of the Minister of State for Home D S Mishra for allegedly patronising the prime accused in the 24-year-old school teacher's murder case. The lady teacher hailing from Bolangir district went missing on October 8 and her half-burnt and partly decomposed body was exhumed from 10 feet under the playground of the private school at Mahaling in Kalahandi district where she taught, 11 days after she went missing.

The prime accused arrested in the case was the president of the managing committee of the school where the lady teacher was employed. Shops, business establishments, government and private offices, markets, private and government financial institutions remained closed during the dawn-to-dusk bandh in Sambalpur on Tuesday. The BJP workers were seen picketing at different parts of Sambalpur district headquarters town. Buses stayed off the road during the agitation. Claiming that the bandh evoked a spontaneous response, the district president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), Aswini Majhi said "we demand the minister's removal besides a CBI inquiry into the incident. "We are not satisfied with the police investigation as the state government is trying to protect the minister. We also demand the arrest of other accused persons involved in the incident. We demand justice for the victim's family." Noting that the police have arrested two persons in connection with the crime, including the prime accused, and four police personnel were placed under suspension on the charge of dereliction in duty, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said "The opposition parties are unnecessarily politicising the incident." Similar protests by the BJP workers were also held in Puri, Nuapada, and other places across the state. Women activists of the saffron party offered 'diya' (earthen lamps) at the Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri. "We have sought divine blessings for justice to the lady teacher who has been killed," said BJP state general secretary Lekhashree Samantsinghar.

Meanwhile, a BJP delegation led by party's state president Samir Mohanty accompanied by former DGP Prakash Mishra and senior advocate Pitamber Acharya met the victim's family in Bolangir district and assured her parents of all help by the saffron party.

Prakash Mishra later told a press conference that a clear nexus is visible between the local police and the prime accused. "The accused was not kept at Sindekela police station where the FIR was lodged. He was shifted to Titlagarh and kept in a police barrack from where he escaped on October 17 night," the former DGP said.

The man was arrested from a sugarcane field where he was hiding on October 19. Meanwhile, the lady teacher kidnapping and murder case had its echo in the national capital too. BJP's national spokesman Sambit Patra, at a press conference in Delhi, came down heavily on the BJD government and accused it of shielding the minister. "BJP president J P Nadda ji is aware of the incident in Kalhandi. As per his directions, a three-member BJP central team including Sunita Duggal, Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury will visit Odisha, conduct a review, and submit a report," Patra said in a video message.

Congress' state in-charge A Chellakumar, is also scheduled to meet the family of the deceased lady teacher during his four-day visit to Odisha starting October 28.

Meanwhile, the activists of the Chhatra Congress, students' wing of the Congress, entered into a scuffle with the police while marching towards the chief minister's residence. During the face-off, the activists broke the barricades and hurled tomatoes and eggs at policemen who were on duty there. The police overpowered them and picked up several protestors who were staging an agitation at a place about one km away from 'Naveen Niwas'.

The students' wing president along with all district presidents of the party took out a rally in the state capital demanding the resignation and arrest of the minister.

Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police US Dash said action will be taken against those, who hurled eggs and tomatoes at the police personnel.

Workers of the party's youth wing led by its state president SR Lenka and Cuttack-Barabati MLA Mohammed Moquim gheraoed the DGP office in Cuttack demanding the dismissal of the minister. The protestors also gave the state government an ultimatum of 72 hours to take action against the minister.

Meanwhile, Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights sought ATR (action taken report) from the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Kalahandi on the alleged violation of child rights in the school and college run by the prime accused at Mahaling.

On the motive behind the crime, a senior police officer had said, the school president had a grudge against the teacher as she was aware of his two extra-marital affairs and had warned that she would expose him. The opposition parties alleged that the minister helped the prime accused to escape from police custody on October 17 night. The minister used to frequently visit the school and college set up by the prime accused at Mahaling.

The State Commission for Women has already visited the deceased lady teacher's house, while the National Commission for Women has dashed a letter to the chief minister demanding the dismissal of two ministers from the Council of Ministers for paving way for free and neutral investigation into the case.

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