No Odisha Bandh tomorrow as High Court directs Congress not to observe strike

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court today asked the Congress party not to observe bandh in the state tomorrow.

Hearing a PIL filed by Cuttack-based businessman Naresh Mishra, the High Court said bandh is not permissible while the party may organise hartal. The agitators cannot disrupt vehicular movement, train services, force anyone to support the bandh call, the court said.

The Congress party had given a call for Odisha Bandh on November 12 from 6 AM to 12 Noon demanding resignation of Dibya Shankar Mishra, Minister of State for Home, over his alleged links with Govind Sahu, prime accused in the sensational Mamita Meher murder case.

A decision in this regard was taken by the Odisha unit of the Congress at the party’s working committee meeting held here on November 1. The meeting was attended by party’s Odisha in-charge A Chella Kumar and Niranjan Patnaik, President, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee.

Congress has also demanded registration of criminal case against the minister and his arrest.

The party had also urged the people of the state to extend support to the state-wide strike on November 12.

Opposition BJP and Congress parties have been demanding resignation of minister Mishra. The murder of 24-year-old Mamita Meher of Jharni village under Turekela block of Balangir district had sent shockwaves across the state. While Mamita was working as a teacher at the Sunshine English Medium School at Mahaling in Kalahandi district, Sahu was the managing committee president of the educational institution.

Mamita went missing on October 8. Alleging involvement of Govind Sahu behind her missing, Mamita’s family members had lodged a complaint with police.

On October 19, bones of Mamita’s body were exhumed from a stadium construction site of the school in the presence of police.

The woman’s body was chopped into pieces before being burnt, said a member of the scientific team probing into the incident.