Bijay Mohapatra accuses Odisha govt of laxity in protecting women

Reported by Ranjan Rath
Rayagada, Dec 24:

Senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra, who is on a tour of Rayadaga district, came down heavily on the Odisha government and the local administration for their laxity in protecting Itishree Pradhan, the Tikri school teacher who was burnt to death last year.

“The incident of Sarbiguda is a dark chapter in the state’s history and a highly condemnable incident. The government is yet to come out of slumber even after repeated instances of cases such as Itishree,” said Mohapatra.

It may be noted that a school teacher was arrested on the charge of raping a girl of a high school in Sargiguda village on Dec 20 this year.

“Nobody accepted their fault when the Itishree case moved to the Supreme Court of India. But after the Rajesh Verma report found 16 government official guilty of criminal negligence, they now admit their mistake,” he said.

The senior BJP leader went on to accuse the district administration of neglecting education completely and announced a protest to eb launched from Rayagada from the last week of January to fight against rampant corruption, negligence, malgovernance and for the right of tribals.

Mohapatra visited some villages under Kashipur block of Tikri police station such as Sargiguda, Bhitarmushukuni, Paikakupakhal,  Andrakanch and Bafalamali areas of Utkal Alumina yesterday and spoke to the villagers regarding the issues they face on a day to day basis.

He also attended a membership drive arranged by district BJP unit at Krishnachandra Nagar Bhavan.