After Face-Off With Cops, BJD Stages Silent Protest In Bhubaneswar Over FM Student Death

Bhubaneswar: A couple of days after a scuffle with police during its Lok Seva Bhawan gherao march, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders on Friday staged a silent protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi Statue at Mahatma Gandhi Park near Janata Maidan in Bhubaneswar.

The demonstration was held to demand justice for the 20-year-old female student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore, who died by self immolation due to alleged harassment by her HoD, Samira Kumar Sahu, and institutional neglect.

Speaking to the media, BJD leader Tukuni Sahu said that the Opposition is being denied its democratic right to protest under the BJP regime in Odisha. “The victim had tagged multiple authorities, including the Chief Minister and state’s Higher Education Minister, in a post on X on July 1. The ruling party failed to respond to the fervent pleas of the victim, who was a member of its own students’ wing. Instead, it employed ‘high-handed’ tactics to silence the Opposition,” she said.

Another senior leader of the regional party, Pratap Jena, said that the BJD would continue to build pressure on the government to ensure justice for the victim. “There has been a rise in crimes against women with 10-15 cases being reported in the state almost every day,” he claimed.

On demand for a judicial probe into the Balasore incident, he said that the Crime Branch won’t be able to bring all who failed the student under the purview of its investigation. “A fair probe cannot be conducted by a DCP-rank officer with fingers pointing at the CM and Higher Education Minister,” he added.

On Wednesday, several BJD leaders, including Pranab Prakash Das and Pritiranjan Gharai, were injured after a clash with police when stopped from marching towards Lok Seva Bhawan, the highest seat of power in the state, after breaching security barricades. They were demanding a judicial probe into the self-immolation by the college girl.

Police were forced to use water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Seven of their personnel were injured during the protest.

The BJP had then termed the violence as an attempt to politicise a tragic incident.

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