The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) came down heavily on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for failure to check the increasing incidents of crime against women. Lower level police officials are being made a scapegoat for such incidents, chairman of the Congress media cell Narsingh Mishra told Press conference here on Friday.
Holding the Chief Minister responsible for the death of lady teacher of Tikiri in Rayagada due to burn injuries at a private hospital in Visakhapatnam, Mishra said besides the CM, she had approached Minister of State for School and Mass Education Rabi Narayan Nanda, the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police, but no action was taken. Action should be taken against all these for not coming forward to help the victim, Mishra said and demanded that cases should be lodged against them as per the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The 36-year-old teacher, posted in an upper primary school at Tikri and admitted to a hospital with 90 per cent burns after being set on fire by a man on Sunday night, died during the day.
Mishra demanded an impartial investigation into the incident and said that strong action should be taken against the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police.
The BJP also criticised the Chief Minister for failure to check increasing crime against women. “As Home Minister, the Chief Minister cannot escape responsibility by announcing ex gratia `10 lakh,” senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra said.
The death of the lady teacher had sparked off strong protest all over the State. While the Mahila Congress brought out a candle rally in protest, BJP’s Mahila Morcha staged a ‘rasta roko’ near the Ram Mandir square.