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BJP Member of the Parliament from Bhubaneswar, Aparajita Sarangi on Friday piled more pressure on Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to hand over the reins of the investigation in the sensational murder case of Kalahandi school teacher Mamita Meher to Central Bureau of Investigation.
Questioning the stoic silence of CM Naveen over the murder case that has been tearing the State apart with tumult for past couple of weeks, Sarangi called upon Patnaik to give his reaction to the media over the case and formally hand over the probe to CBI.
Sarangi dared Patnaik to come clean on minister Dibya Shankar's link with the murder prime accused Gobinda Sahu and role in the case.
If your (minister Dibya Shankar) is innocent, where is the harm in admitting it and why is there so much apprehension surrounding it, the parliamentarian questioned during a press briefing in Bhubaneswar.
Quoting a recent NCRB report on the whopping 26 per cent rise in crimes against women in the State, Sarangi said it feels despicable to see that Odisha has scripted an unholy record of securing second rank among all states in the country in terms of crimes against women.
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"It is even more dreadful that despite witnessing a flurry of crimes, the conviction rate is also extremely disheartening," said the BJP lawmaker.
Here in Odisha, women are unsafe and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is responsible for it. So the BJP has decided to reach out to every nook and corner of the State to create awareness about the issue in the public, she added.
Meanwhile, shortly after Sarangi's media interaction, Minister of State for Home in Odisha, Dibya Shankar Mishra opened up on the Mamita murder case for the first time since the sensational incident.
In a press statement, Mishra said that he was deeply anguished by the unfortunate death of Mamita and noted that guilty must be given strictest punishment as per law.
Swearing that he has nothing to do with the offence, Mishra urged the Opposition political parties and media to take the evidence against him to the Police or the Courts.
“I will not only resign from my position but will also retire from public life.." the minister wrote in the statement.
