The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday intensified its stir against the Odisha government demanding resignation of Minister of State (Home), Dibya Shankar Mishra for his alleged links with the main accused in the Mamita Meher murder case.
The Opposition party today observed 12-hour bandh, from 6 am to 6 pm, in many districts including Boudh, Kendrapara, Balasore and Jagatsinghpur over the issue. The party members also called for a 6-hour bandh in Bhadrak district.
However essential services including ambulance services have been exempted from the bandh.
Besides, the BJP has decided to gherao the SP offices in Cuttack and Rourkela demanding the ouster of the Minister.
Bipra Charan Mohanty, president of Boudh district BJP said, “The government’s words and actions do not match. It’s like an elephant- separate sets of teeth for eating and showing off.”
“We will submit a memorandum to the district Collector demanding the arrest of Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra,” he added.
Similarly, the BJP district president of Jagatsinghpur, Satyabrata Mohapatra said, “If the government doesn’t consider Mishra as an accused, it should have opened up on this. CM Naveen Patnaik never uttered a word on this case. We will intensify our protest until justice is served to Mamita.”
It is pertinent to mention here that the main opposition party in the State has raised questions on the links of Mishra with the key accused in the sensational murder case that saw a lady teacher being brutally murdered and buried in a pit at Mahaling in Kalahandi.
Gobinda Sahu, president of Sunshine English Medium School at Mahaling in Kalahandi district, where the deceased worked as a teacher, was arrested by the police nearly a fortnight after Mamita disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Even while he was detained at the Titlagarh police barracks, Sahu staged a dramatic escape raising serious suspicion over the efficiency of the investigating agency and Minister Mishra who is in charge of the Home department.
Following the allegations levelled by the family of the deceased about the Minister’s involvement in the crime, Opposition Congress and BJP have been staging all out protests across the State demanding the immediate expulsion of the Minister from the State cabinet and his arrest in order to ensure fairness in the probe.