Cuttack: The Orissa High Court Wednesday directed the state government to submit a report on the death of a woman motorist during an agitation by some students of Utkal University on National Highway no. 16 in Bhubaneswar September 26, 2015.
A division bench of Chief Justice KS Jhaveri and Justice KR Mahapatra asked the state government to submit its reply in an affidavit. The state government has been told to inform the court regarding the measures introduced to avoid similar incidents in future.
The bench posted the next hearing on the case to April 15.
Some students of Utkal University in Bhubaneswar had organised an agitation on the NH-16 to protest the cancellation of students’ union polls for the year 2015.
The agitating students had ransacked the personal vehicle of Suman Sharma, a resident of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, on the NH. Sharma fainted inside her car.
Police had rushed Sharma to Capital Hospital, where doctors declared the latter as dead.
Expressing concern over the incident, social outfit Maitree Sansad had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the HC.
The outfit had informed the court that some policemen were present during the agitation. But, they did not do anything to prevent the agitating students from ransacking Sharma’s vehicle.
The outfit also claimed that it had raised the issue with the state Chief Secretary and other senior officials but to no avail.
