Normal life was interrupted in Odisha on Thursday, as the 12-hour morning-to-morning Bandar, called by the Congress and its allies, brought most parts of the state to a standstill. The bandh was called to demand justice for a student of a Balasore college, who died by the authorities allegedly on fire after ignoring complaints of sexual harassment by a professor.
Vehicle movement on several highways and major towns stopped a piece as Congress workers and other protesters. Passengers also faced difficulty in traveling from railway stations and airports. Some railway services were also affected as the Rail Roko movement was also staged at several stations in Odisha.
Professional installations across the state were also closed, and a thin attendance was recorded in educational institutions and government offices due to the ban on vehicle movement.
In Bhubaneswar, the police detained several Congress leaders, including AIC Odisha in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu, PCC President Bhakta Charan Das and others, as they tried to break the security barricades and march towards the Public Service Bhavan.
The PCC president said, “Our fight will continue until justice is done in the case. We will intensify the protest across the state. The government is using the police force, but we will not be afraid. The Chief Minister will have to resign or take action against his minister, MP, MLA and Balasore SP.”
The party had earlier appealed to the people of all classes to support the statewide shutdown calls so that the government could pressurize them to take action and fix the responsibility.
To deal with the bandh, the state government asked the District Magistrate and Superintendents of Police (SPS) to maintain law and order and take preventive and precautionary measures to consume any untoward incident.
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Police personnel were deployed in large numbers in Odisha, especially major cities. Police also deployed high-resolution AI cameras and drones at strategic places.
Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner K Dev Dutta Singh said that there was no news of violence during Bandh in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
The ruling BJP criticized the Congress, alleging politicizing the issue of death of a college student. Bhubaneswar MP and BJP national spokesperson Aparajita Sarangi said that Congress and BJD have no moral right to protest on the issue.
Sarangi said in a press conference, “Congress should see how it has treated women in Odisha during its rule. We all know about the incidents of crime against women during the BJD rule.
Rights (T) Student Death (T) Self-Emolution (T) Inaction (T) Responsibility of Officers.
