SAMBALPUR/MALKANGIRI: The Biju Mahila Janata Dal (BMJD) on Wednesday staged demonstration in Sambalpur protesting the alleged rise in crimes against women across Odisha.
As part of the state-wide protest announced by BJD president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, hundreds of women workers of the party gathered in front of the Sambalpur collector’s office. Holding placards, they demanded immediate steps to check the growing crimes against women.
The agitators also criticised the BJP government in the state accusing it of neglecting women’s safety. They also alleged delay in justice delivery and a surge in heinous crimes such as rape, sexual harassment, and other forms of violence against women.
Later, BMJD leaders submitted a memorandum to the Odisha DGP through the Sambalpur SP’s office. The memorandum said, “On an average, 15 cases of rape are being reported in the state every day. Besides, over 20,000 women have gone missing in the last nine months. Shockingly, only 7,048 of them have been traced.”
Citing specific cases, it mentioned the self-immolation death of a student of FM college in Balasore after her repeated pleas for protection from sexual harassment were ignored, the gangrape of a young woman at Gopalpur beach and other recent incidents of crimes against women. “These inhuman incidents and the state government’s failure to ensure timely justice reflect a disturbing collapse of women’s safety and security in Odisha,” it stated.
After the demonstration, the BMJD workers took out a rally from the collectorate to the SP’s office after covering key areas of the city. Among others, BJD’s Sambalpur unit president Rohit Pujari and district BMJD president Bandita Rani Mishra were present.
Similarly in Malkangiri, the local unit of BMJD staged demonstration in front of the district police office protesting the ‘rising’ crimes against women across the state. Later, a BMJD delegation submitted a memorandum to the DGP through the Malkangiri SP.