bjd-calls-students-strike-over-gopalpur-gang-rape

Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday demanded an 'All Odisha Students' Strike' on 25 June to protest against the alleged gang rape of a college student at Gopalpur sea beach in Ganjam district.

 

Making an appeal at a press conference, BJD leader Debi Ranjan Tripathy asked all the students in Odisha to unite and speak out against the horrific incident on 15 June.

 

"We urge all the students of all the colleges in the state to wear black badges, boycott classes and stage protests to protect girl students from sexual abuse and exploitation," he added.

 

Yet another BJD leader, Byamokesh Ray, censured the state's law and order status, alleging it had totally broken down. "Girls and women no longer dare to come out of their houses. Cases of school girls getting pregnant in hostels and college students getting raped occur," Ray asserted.

 

Ray also accused that more than 15 rape cases are reported every day in Odisha, terming the Gopalpur incident as a "matter of shame for the state." The BJD said the 20-year-old victim had been attacked by a gang of 10 men when she had gone to the beach along with her male friend during Raja festival.

 

Ray condemned the BJP-ruled state government for marking its first anniversary in power while "an innocent girl was getting gang raped." He blamed Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who also holds the Home portfolio, for the uptick in crimes against women.

 

Tripathy reported that the police arrested 50 BJD workers who had been demonstrating while the chief minister visited Ganjam on Monday. He criticized the administration for the way it responded to public outrage and its inability to secure the safety of women.

 

Acting on the political protest, Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, who also heads the Women and Child Development Department, stated that the government had moved promptly in the matter.

 

"Ten accused have been arrested within hours of the incident. A test identification parade has already been carried out. Law is taking its own course," Parida stated.

 

She also informed that the government is considering steps to provide safety at all the hotspots of couples in the state.

 

The government, meanwhile, has taken steps to set up six fast-track courts exclusively for cases of violence against women, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said. "A decision has been taken that women victim cases would be wound up within a month," he added.