Bhubaneswar: Demanding the arrest of the culprits behind the abduction and brutal murder of Nayagarh girl 'Pari at the earliest and ouster of State Minister Arun Sahoo for his alleged involvement in shielding the main accused of the case, the Odisha unit of BJP today launched a five-day-long 'padyatra' from Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
The protest march started from Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar and will stop at Janla. The march will pass through Sarua, Pichukuli, Itamati and Jadupur, the native village of the five-year-old girl during the five days. On the concluding day of the procession, a public meeting will be organised in Jadupur.
Coming down heavily on the State government for shielding Minister Arun Sahoo and his aide Babuli Nayak, who is allegedly the main accused in the Pari murder case, Odisha BJP president Samir Mohanty said, "We wanted a discussion on the missing of Pari and 5,000 other children in the last two years and 27,000 children in five years respectively in the Odisha Assembly so that their mothers get justice. But as our demands were not heard, we were compelled to hit the streets. We want CBI investigation into the case and ouster of State Minister Arun Sahoo."
National president of BJP Mahila Morcha, Vanathi Srinivasan while participating in the procession said, "We reiterate our demands for a CBI enquiry into Pari case and removal of Arun Sahoo from the ministerial post. If our demands are not met, we will continue the stir and intensify it," she added.
"The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in its report pointed out that there are glaring errors in the probe by the SIT. Strict action should be taken against the police officers for dereliction in their duties," demanded BJP's national spokesperson, Sambit Patra.
Responding to the allegations leveled by the saffron party members, BJD MP Pinaki Mishra said, "The incident of Pari was unfortunate but it should not be politicized and the BJP should introspect it. The Hathras incident was also ill-fated and everyone knows how the BJP-led Uttar government Pradesh handled the case. So politics should not be done here too or it may boomerang on them," Mishra said.
(Edited by Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)