Intensifying agitation over demands of the immediate removal and arrest of Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra and the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) under the supervision of the Chief of Justice of Orissa High Court for an impartial probe into the murder of Kalahandi school teacher, Mamita Meher, the Congress on Thursday took the battle seeking justice for the deceased to the National Capital of India.
Members of Odisha Pradesh Youth Congress under the leadership of State president Dr Smruti Ranjan Lenka staged sit-in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
Senior Congress leader and Cuttack-Barabati MLA Mohammad Moquim and National in-charge of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), Krishna Allavaru also participated in the demonstration.
Earlier on October 31, the members of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by the party’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra had staged a demonstration at Patel Chowk in Delhi.
Moquim said “People of Odisha want the removal of Minister Mishra’s from the Cabinet to ensure an impartial probe into the murder case of the lady teacher. However, the BJD-led Odisha government is not willing to do so. The Minister was silent for 22 days after the incident which has brought him under a cloud of suspicion.”
“The Congress party had earlier met the Odisha Governor in this regard and now we are in Delhi to submit a memorandum to the President. If Mamita doesn’t get justice, the protests will be intensified into a mass public movement,” the legislator warned.
“We met Odisha DGP and then sought answers from CM Naveen Patnaik and even met the Governor. We have now come to Delhi seeking justice for Mamita. Unless the deceased and her family members get justice and the people involved in the murder case are behind the bars, we will not budge,” stated Lenka.
Meanwhile, the Odisha Congress has called a six-hour bandh (from 6 am to 12 pm) in the State on November 12 protesting the rising crime against women and seeking justice for the slain lady teacher. However, all emergency services including ambulance, milk vehicles etc, have been exempted during the shutdown.
“Congress will observe the bandh peacefully and the members of the party will not resort to any kind of violent activities. Shops and markets will be closed and vehicular communication will be halted during the bandh. However, essential services like fire brigade, ambulance etc and students going to examination centres will be exempted from the shutdown,” announced party spokesperson Debasish Patnaik at a presser in Bhubaneswar today.