Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of BJD leaders and workers Monday staged demonstrations before the offices of the revenue divisional commissioners (RDCs) in three different regions of Odisha demanding the constitution of a judicial panel to probe the self-immolation death of a woman student in Balasore.
Opposition leaders including MLAs staged agitations before the RDC offices in Cuttack, Berhampur and Sambalpur, demanding a court monitored judicial inquiry headed by a sitting judge of the Orissa High Court.
“The student had sought the help of a number of important persons in high positions. However, none of them turned up to help the student,” BJD senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra alleged, while joining the agitation near RDC office in Cuttack.
The 20-year-old second-year integrated BEd. student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College succumbed to 95 per cent burn injuries on the night of July 14 at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, two days after her self-immolation attempt, sparking nationwide outrage.
The BJD has already rejected the crime branch inquiry, claiming it would be inadequate.
“Several influential figures, including the Balasore MP and the Higher Education Minister, must be interrogated in the case. A crime branch probe cannot ensure impartiality,” Mishra asserted.
Protest marches were held from Sunshine Field to RDC office in Cuttack, Gangadhar Mandap, Daleipada to RDC Office in Sambalpur, and from Khalikote University Ground to RDC Office in Berhampur.
During the protest in Cuttack, demonstrators clashed briefly with security personnel while attempting to enter the RDC office.
However, a selected group of leaders were later allowed to meet the RDC and submit memorandum to governor demanding judicial probe into the matter.
Mishra claimed that assaults on women and girls are continuing to take place in the state and people are panicked due to back-to-back incidents, from the gang rape of a college student at Gopalpur beach (June 15) to this tragic self-immolation case in Balasore, and now the burning of a minor girl by miscreants in Balanga, Puri (July 19).
In a memorandum to the Govenror, the BJD said, “A judicial inquiry is the only appropriate mechanism to ensure a transparent, credible, and independent investigation into this grave matter. A crime branch inquiry will not suffice, as it cannot examine the systemic lapses involving political, institutional, and administrative failure. This is not just a case of administrative negligence, it is a matter of criminal negligence involving multiple stakeholders, including ministers, police officials, college authorities, and lawmakers.”
A young girl lost her life not just due to harassment, but due to complete failure of the institutions meant to protect and support her, the memorandum added.
PTI