Kunduli row: Odisha BJP calls for statewide hartal, undivided Koraput bandh

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called for a statewide hartal and a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh in the undivided Koraput district tomorrow over the death of Kunduli ‘gang rape’ victim.

The hartal will be observed by the party across the state from 6 am to 6 pm tomorrow while emergency services will be excluded from the ambit of the protest, said BJP general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan.

Party’s general secretary Bhrigu Buxipatra said the bandh will be observed tomorrow in undivided Koraput district– Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada and Koraput– from 6 am to 6 pm. The party has demanded a CBI probe into the death of the girl.

Several BJP leaders along with hundreds of party workers had yesterday staged a rally in the city over the incident. While heading towards Naveen Nivas, residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, from Sishu Bhawan Chhak here, to gherao it, they were stopped by cops. A scuffle ensued between them and policemen following which around 50 workers of the party were taken into preventive custody.

On the other hand, the BJP Mahila Morcha, women’s wing of the party, has decided to stage a state-wide protest over the death of the victim.

Notably, the minor tribal girl of Sorisapadar village, who was allegedly gang raped by a group of security personnel on October 10 last year when she was returning from Kunduli market near the village, hanged herself at her house yesterday.

The family members said that she took the extreme step as the officials are in denial mode that she was raped at all.