Year-Ender 2025: Women’s safety takes centre stage in Odisha politics

Bhubaneswar: The law-and-order situation in Odisha emerged as a primary political flashpoint in 2025, with a series of high-profile crimes against women putting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on the defensive. 

The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress party maintained sustained pressure on the administration throughout the year, citing a spike in atrocities. This political confrontation followed the BJP’s ascension to power in 2024, shifting the state’s political narrative toward public safety and policing.

A major incident that drew national attention occurred on June 15, when a college student was gang-raped at Gopalpur beach in Ganjam district. The victim and her male companion were at a secluded spot when a group of men assaulted them, thrashing the youth before sexually abusing the girl.

Responding to intense public outcry over the lack of beach patrolling, Odisha Police arrested 10 individuals, including four juveniles, on June 17.

However, the Gopalpur incident was followed by similar allegations across the state. In September, another 19-year-old college student was sexually abused near the Baliharachandi Temple in Puri. Reports indicated that two miscreants tied her friend to a tree before committing the crime.

The state was further shaken by two self-immolation cases linked to harassment. On July 12, Soumyashree Bisi, a student at Fakir Mohan (FM) Autonomous College in Balasore, took the extreme step over alleged mental and sexual harassment by a faculty member. A week later, on July 19, a 15-year-old girl in Bayabar village, Puri district, also ended her life under similar circumstances.

Apart from this, a series of harrowing incidents that occurred in 2025 had deeply shaken the conscience of the people of Odisha.

These included the gang rape of a minor in Malkangiri in July, the alleged sexual harassment of a student by three hockey coaches in Jajpur, the gang rape of a 35-year-old woman in Mayurbhanj’s Karanjia area in June, and the brutal rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in the Chandbali area of Bhadrak. The Opposition BJD and Congress strongly reacted to these heinous crimes, holding massive protests from the streets to the state assembly.

The budget session of the Odisha assembly in March 2025 witnessed high drama with the suspension of all 14 Congress MLAs following their unique and continuous protests inside and outside the house using traditional musical instruments, gongs, and flutes, demanding an Assembly committee to probe crimes against women.

As Odisha draws the curtain on 2025, crimes against women have emerged as one of the most sensitive and politically charged issues confronting the state. While the BJP-led government has consistently rejected Opposition claims of a deterioration in law and order, the spate of high-profile incidents, public outrage, and sustained protests ensured that women’s safety remained firmly at the centre of the political discourse throughout the year.

Whether the state’s policing and preventive mechanisms see tangible improvement in the coming months is likely to shape not only public confidence but also the political narrative in Odisha going forward.