Bhubaneswar: Odisha Congress Wednesday announced a series of demonstrations it will hold in various districts to protest the rise in crimes against women.
The ‘Nari Naya Yatra’ will begin August 8 and continue till August 14, state Congress president Bhakta Charan Das said.
Congress members will gherao the DGP office in Cuttack at 10 am August 8, demanding the arrest of the three people who allegedly set a girl on fire in Puri’s Balanga, he said.
“We had given a seven-day ultimatum to the police to arrest the culprits,” Das said.
On August 10, the Congress will organise a ‘yatra’ at the girls’ village in Balanga. The march will start from the girls’ village and reach Nimapada town, where a public meeting will be held.
Das urged women, students, and the youth to join the programme in large numbers.
The girl’s family had earlier alleged that she was set on fire by three miscreants July 19. Following her death August 2, police claimed that no one else was involved in her death.
Later, her father also issued a video statement, supporting the police’s claim, stating that she ended her life due to emotional distress.
Das said a similar march will also be held in Balasore August 14, demanding justice for the student who allegedly set herself on fire following inaction over her sexual harassment complaint against a professor.
The march will start near the Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, he said.
The 20-year-old student died while undergoing treatment at AIIM-Bhubaneswar July 14.
Meanwhile, the BJD also called a six-hour hartal in Puri district August 7, demanding justice for the girl who succumbed to burn injuries.
The hartal will begin at 6 am and continue till 12 pm, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said.
