December 30th 2024.
In a press conference held in Bhubaneswar, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Lekhasri Samantsinghar criticized the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the recent incident involving the assault of two tribal women in Remuna, Balasore district of Odisha. The incident, which took place on December 26 in Chanakanapur village, has sparked outrage and raised concerns about the deteriorating law and order system in the state. The accused, who were arrested by the police after the incident was reported, allegedly belong to the BJP and are involved in "kangaroo courts" and vigilantism.
Samantsinghar condemned the incident and shared details about the brutal assault on the victims, who were beaten with shoes and sticks, dragged naked, and tied to a tree before being beaten again. She also mentioned the viral video posted by the main accused, Badal Panda, on social media platforms. According to Samantsinghar, the victims are tribals while the perpetrators are non-tribals, as revealed by a fact-finding team of BJD that visited the village.
The BJD leader further accused the police of not taking strict action against the accused due to pressure from the ruling party leaders. She demanded that all those involved be booked under the SC/ST Atrocities Act. Samantsinghar also presented photos of Badal Panda with senior BJP leaders, including Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi, to support her claims of the police's negligence in arresting the main accused.
In response to the allegations, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, claimed that such attacks on tribals have become increasingly common in states ruled by the BJP. He referred to the recent incident in Madhya Pradesh where a tribal youth died in police custody and the assault on two tribal women in Balasore, Odisha.
Meanwhile, Pratap Chandra Sarangi denied any involvement with the accused, stating that Badal Panda was a member of BJD who recently joined BJP. He also stated that the party cannot be held responsible for the actions of its members and that he had immediately contacted the Balasore SP to ensure the arrest of the accused after seeing the viral video.
The Balasore SP, Raj Prasad, reported that two cases have been filed based on complaints filed by opposing groups and three arrests have been made in connection with the assault on the two tribal women. The incident has sparked widespread outrage, with many calling for strict action against the perpetrators and an improvement in the law and order situation in Odisha.
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