BJD blocks the Bhubaneswar-Puri road at Pipili toll gate, demanding justice in Balagam case

Puri (Odisha) [India], August 7 (ANI): Making a sharp attack on the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday launched a six-hour protest at the Pipili toll gate in Puri district, demanding justice for the 15-year-old girl who was allegedly set ablaze by unidentified miscreants in Balanga. Calling the BJP's so-called 'double engine' government a total failure, BJD leaders criticised the BJP government for the sorry state of law and order in the state and demanded them to wake up from its 'deep sleep.'
BJD Leader Rudra Narayana Maharathi criticised the BJP, saying that they are in deep sleep. "The BJP government in Odisha is in sleep mode. They have been in power for the last fourteen months in India and are in power in India as well. They call it a double engine government, and I think they are out of engine oil", he said.

Maharathi added that since the BJP came to power in Odisha, crimes against women are on the rise, "In the last eight months, there have been reports of eighteen thousand cases of crime against Women in Odisha, and out of that, only two hundred and seventeen, which is one per cent... were solved till now. The people have lost faith in the BJP, and they need to rise from their sleep"
He also noted that the Odisha CM did not visit the victim and demanded a statement from the police regarding the people involved in the crime.
He said, "The CM did not have time to meet the patient in the fifteen days when she was fighting for life. But after the death, the first tweet that came from was from the Chief Minister... after one hour, the police department informed that they have reached the final stage and no one is involved in this incident. If no one is involved, why are they not giving a press brief and issuing a final statement? Five days have passed and the police department has not issued any statement stating who the culprits are behind the incident."
Highlighting the sorry state of law and order in the state, he added, "This protest is in the entire district, and the main motive of this strike is to wake the government from its sleep."
BJD leader Pradip Majhi, who was also present at the protest, added, "Today the entire district has come to a standstill. All private institutions and government institutions are under road blockage. Justice was not done to our sister."
He added, "Every day, someone is burning somewhere, and yesterday in Patt Munde, a girl lost her life. This shows that the government has failed completely. The Balanga victim stayed in the AIIMS for fourteen days, and after fifteen minutes of her death, a tweet was made asking not to make any political comment. What is the meaning of this? And if the political party does not fight for the people, then who will fight?"
Majhi also criticised the BJP government and said, "The double engine government has failed in saving the life of the girl as well as in catching the accused. Because of that, Odisha is on fire today, and till the day women are not safe, this protest will continue. For this reason, Biju Janata Dal, which is the biggest party, has closed the entire district of Odisha."
The protest came in the wake of a crime that took place on July 19 in which a 15-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and set on fire by unidentified persons near a riverside in the Balanga area of Puri district. She sustained 75 per cent burns and was initially admitted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar. She was later airlifted to AIIMS New Delhi and admitted to the Burn ICU, where she succumbed to her injuries on Saturday.
According to the police, the minor had gone out with her friends but was allegedly abducted midway and taken to the riverside, where she was set ablaze. She managed to reach a nearby house, from where her cousin took her to the hospital. (ANI)