Phulbani: The 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh call given by BJP Mahila Morcha, protesting against the rising incidents of crime against women in Kandhamal district paralysed normal life here Friday.
The protesters were seen picketing at several key places, bringing the traffic to a grinding halt.
BJP Mahila Morcha has called for the bandh to protest against the rape and murder of a minor girl at a village under Kotgarh and the alleged involvement of a former MLA from Phulbani, Debendra Kanhar in a sex video.
Business establishments, education institutions, banks and government offices remained closed for the day while vehicular movements came to a grinding halt.
The BJP Mahila Morcha activists staged pickets at important junctions demanding the dismissal of both the district collector and the Superintendent of Police (SP) for their inaction. They also demanded compensation of Rs 20 lakh for the family members of the deceased minor and death sentence to the culprit.
Baliguda, Tumudibandh, Raikia, Daringbadi, G. Udayagiri, Brahmanigaon were the worst affected places due to the bandh.
The agitators accused the administration of not paying attention towards security of women, leading to rise in rapes in the district. They warned to intensify the protest in coming days, if no steps were taken to arrest the absconding MLA Kanhar.
On the other hand, ruling BJD members termed the shutdown as a gimmick to take political mileage.
Meanwhile, the district administration has deployed adequate security measures to avoid any untoward incident during the shutdown.
It may be pertinent to mention here that a minor girl was allegedly raped and brutally murdered at Hatapada village under Kotgarh block September 22. The Class IV girl had gone to attend nature’s call near the village pond but did not return home. Later in the evening, her mutilated body was found from a forest near the pond. Two days after, another Class VIII girl was raped in the same area while the accused is on the run.
Similarly, a girl lodged a complaint against former Phulbani ex-MLA Debendra Kanhar and his aides, accusing them of entering their house and misbehaving with them September 4. The MLA was also allegedly featured in a scandalous video following which two police teams were formed to nab him.
PNN