BJD, Congress agitate after minor girl set on fire in Puri

Mahila Congress and NSUI workers even hurled tomatoes as a mark of protest.

Members of the Biju Janata Dal hold a protest in the AIIMS Bhubaneswar premises in, demanding resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Prabhati Parida in relation to the girl who was set afire by miscreants on Saturday Photo | Express

BHUBANESWAR: Congress workers on Saturday staged dharna near deputy CM Pravati Parida’s residence after a 15-year-old girl was set on fire at Balanga in Puri by at least three youths earlier in the day.

Mahila Congress and NSUI workers even hurled tomatoes as a mark of protest. However, police stopped the protesters from proceeding further and removed them from the spot.

The women workers led by Odisha Mahila Congress president Minakshi Bahinipati raised slogans against the state government over the rising incidents of crimes against women. Police said some of the protesters were taken into preventive custody but they were later let off.

Earlier in the day, both BJD and Congress workers protested outside AIIMS over the attack on the minor girl. Scores of Congress and BJD workers even stayed put outside the hospital till late in the night.