Bhubaneswar: The citizens’ forum in Odisha’s Bargarh has called for a 12-hour bandh on January 21 seeking immediate arrest of the culprits in the alleged abduction and gangrape of a 24-year-old woman in the district recently.

The woman went missing from Dhanu Jatra at Bargarh town on January 12. She was rescued with multiple injuries in nearby Kurla forest on January 13.

The citizens’ forum called for the dawn-to-dusk bandh after an all-party meeting at Bargarh today. Representatives of various political parities and social outfits were present at the meeting.    

“The locals had blocked the Bargarh-Bhatil road on January 16 seeking immediate arrest of the miscreants involved in the abduction and gangrape case. The police had then promised that they would nab the accused within 48 hours. But, they have failed to do so. Hence, we have called for a 12-hour bandh in Bargarh on January 21 (Tuesday),” said a member of the citizens’ forum.

The forum also sought an appropriate investigation into the case and proper treatment to the victim.

According to the woman’s family, she went to Bargarh Dhanu Jatra in the evening hours of January 12 but did not return home.

A youth later called from the woman’s phone and informed her family that she had met with an accident and was found with multiple injuries.

Subsequently, the woman was rescued from the forest and rushed to a hospital in a critical condition.

The Bargarh police have so far interrogated two persons in connection with the incident.