Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, July 14: A 12-member team of BJP sought the intervention of Orissa Human Rights Commission (OHRC) and Orissa State Commission for Women (OSCW) in connection with arrest of 114 villagers of Belabahali who were opposing a proposed bridge over Kusei River recently.
The team led by BJP state president KV Singh Deo visited the offices of the two commissions and submitted memorandums stating the team which visited the village found the villagers were subject to atrocities by the police and district administration.
The team alleged the villagers were protesting peacefully seeking a realignment of the bridge over the river fearing flood. However, the police arrested 114 people including 63 women. Later, when the villagers assembled to take stock of the situation, police resorted to lathicharge and fired rubber bullets on them, the memorandum alleged.
Party’s state secretary Jatin Mohanty told Orissa Post the district administration had deliberately been disrupting power supply to the village between 7 pm to 7 am. He also said the police have cordoned off the area and restricting the villagers’ movement in the area.
The party also mentioned in the memorandum that the injured were denied treatment at the hospitals. Also, there was no woman police official present during the protest and the arrested are not being produced before the court, the party mentioned in its memorandum.