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Bhubaneswar: The members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will take out a march from December 20 to intensify the agitation against alleged inaction of the government and police over the kidnapping and brutal murder of 5-year-old girl Pari.
Addressing a press conference today in Rourkela, BJP's State president Samir Mohanty said that the party will launch a padayatra from Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar to Jadupur village in Nayagarh, the native place of the deceased minor girl.
"BJP will take out a padayatra from Lingaraj Temple to Pari's village in Nayagarh demanding justice for the girl. The padayatra will be carried out from December 20 till 24, and I request all citizens including the intellectuals and student organisations to be a part of the protest."
Targeting the ruling-BJD, Mohanty said, "After minister Arun Sahoo's audio went viral, BJD neither suspended him nor was any action taken against him. This shows how the government is trying to shield him."
He further stated that the fight is for families of thousands of children, whom the State police have failed to trace.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data suggests that the recovery rate of missing children in Odisha was 27.1 per cent in 2019, the lowest in the country. Reports also claim that more than 4000 children who have gone missing in the last few years are still untraceable.
"The NCRB data in the last two years (2017-19) mentioned 5503 children were missing. So many children vanishing from their homes has disturbed every common citizen of the State. For BJD leaders this could be a mere affair, but this is actually alarming. BJP will fight to provide justice to all these families," Mohanty said.
Expressing concern over the missing of children in Odisha, BJP Mahila Morcha leader Smruti Patnaik said, "Over 4000 children have gone missing in the last 2 years. The accused are roaming scot-free due to police inefficiency."
Notably, the BJP has planned to launch Padayatras across 147 assembly constituencies in the State demanding justice for the hapless family of the five-year-old girl Pari who was brutally murdered following her abduction in July this year.
