DHENKANAL: The Bhuban bandh observed by BJP on Sunday demanding Rs 10 lakh ex gratia to the family of the minor girl of Maluaguda village under Bhuban police limits, who was murdered after being raped last week, was total.
The BJP activists burnt tyres and blocked the National Highway bringing vehicular movement in the area to a grinding halt. All educational institutions, private organisations and business establishments remained closed during the six-hour bandh.
On January 24, a nine-year old girl of Maluaguda village had gone to the house of the accused, Sibananda Padhan, to watch television and did not return. On a search, her body was found along a road near her house the next day.
The girl’s family members buried her body in the backyard of their house without informing the police. On being informed about the incident by some villagers, Bhuban police rushed to the village the next day and started investigation. On January 26, police exhumed the body and arrested Padhan.
As the girl belongs to a tribal community, a fact-finding team of Tribal Cell of the Pradesh Congress Committee led by former MP Pradeep Majhi visited the village on Friday and demanded ex gratia for the bereaved family, failing which the tribals and dalit will take to the streets, he had threatened.
Former Rajya Sabha Member Rudra Narayan Pany and district BJP president Bibhuti Bhusan Pradhan have demanded stringent action against the persons accused in Bhagbanpur and Bhuban incidents.