BJP seeks governor's intervention to remove Bhubaneswar mayor over objectionable video
BHUBANESWAR: The state BJP on Friday sought the intervention of Governor SC Jamir for an impartial probe into the sex video allegedly featuring city Mayor Anant Narayan Jena and the death of an engineering student. "We urge you to intervene and ensure removal of the Mayor of Bhubaneswar city for an impartial and transparent probe into the objectionable video allegedly linked to the death of the engineering student," the memorandum submitted by the BJP to the Governor said.
A 14-member delegation of the party led by state president Basant Panda met the Governor at the Raj Bhavan here. "We have drawn the attention of the Governor to the inaction by the state government in the cold-blooded murder of an engineering student which is directly linked to the objectionable video," Panda said. The BJP alleged that there were allegations that the murder of the engineering student, who was in possession of the video, was a planned one. Despite evidence that the death of the engineering student was not unnatural and it was a murder, the police had closed the case to protect persons very close to chief minister Naveen Patnaik, the memorandum said.
While saying that the objectionable video came to the fore, police re-opened the case, but the investigation is not proceeding in a proper manner, it demanded that the link between the video and the "planned murder" must be investigated and the guilty should be punished. "We are apprehensive about a proper investigation as the case involves a person with the capacity to influence the probe due to closeness with the chief minister and the government," BJP said.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra demanded that police should quiz the second person in the video to bring out the truth. The party had earlier this week organised a statewide two-hour 'chakka jam' and demonstration before the DGP's office in Cuttack demanding the ouster of the Bhubaneswar Mayor.
Congress continued dharna in front of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation office demanding the mayor's resignation. "The police cannot undertake an impartial probe into the matter till the mayor continues in his post. Therefore, we demand a CBI probe," state Congress chief Prasad Harichandan said.