BHUBANESWAR: The state government will reopen investigation into the mysterious death of Smitarani Biswal, a panchayat executive officer of Haridaspur panchayat in Jajpur district, after five years of the incident.
This was announced by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at an event organised by the BJP at Barchana during the party’s membership drive on Sunday. Smitarani was found hanging in a private guest house under mysterious circumstances on October 16, 2019.
Coming down heavily on the previous BJD government for not acting on crime against women due to politics, the chief minister alleged that Smitarani was murdered by the local leaders of the regional outfit and it was given the colour of a suicide.
“Smitarani’s husband met me recently and requested for a fresh probe into the incident. Our government will investigate the case and take stern action against all those involved in the crime,” Majhi said.
Taking a dig at the ‘Maa Ku Samman’ (respect to women) slogan of the BJD, he asked if killing a woman PEO to whitewash the black deeds of the local leaders of the regional party was respect to women.
The chief minister said despite many top leaders of the BJD representing the mineral-rich Jajpur district, it has lagged behind in all development indices.
Citing the Nagada malnutrition deaths during the previous government, he said the death of 15 children showed the state in poor light and hogged headlines at national and international-level. Though the then government launched several schemes to bring a change in the lives of the people at Nagada, it failed to implement them. There is hardly any change in the lives of the people of the village, he said.
“There has been only destruction in the state during the 24 years of BJD rule because of its vote bank politics. Despite being endowed with rich mineral resources, Jajpur is lagging behind due to three families who have looted the district,” Majhi said.
He said Congress and BJD are two sides of the same coin so far as dynasty politics and nepotism is concerned. “While the son has taken over the reins from mother in Congress, here in Jajpur district, sons are ruling the roost after their fathers in the BJD,” he said. Their only aim is to amass wealth not the development of the people, Majhi added.