Other States - Orissa   

State accused of shielding criminals

BHUBANESWAR: The State unit of the Nationalist Congress Party on Monday blamed the Naveen Patnaik Government for allegedly protecting the interests of criminals, bureaucrats and corporate houses.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, party’s State president Bijay Mohapatra further blamed the Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance government for its ‘failure’ to maintain law and order in the State.

“Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is holding the Home portfolio, was busy protecting the criminals instead of taking them to task,” Mr. Mohapatra alleged.

The Chief Minister was washing off his hands by referring matters to various authorities for inquiry and holding review meetings at frequent intervals, while police were not initiating any action against the culprits, Mr. Mohapatra observed.

“Why have not the police arrested anyone in the case pertaining to the alleged sexual harassment of suspended woman marshal of State Assembly Gayatri Panda so far?,” he queried.

Expressing concern over the series of bank dacoities, incidents of rape and the latest case of rioting in Puri jail, Mr. Mohapatra said that the government had utterly failed to ensure people’s safety.

Mr. Mohapatra informed that his party would organise a Jail Bharo agitation in the city on June 4 to register its protest against the deteriorating law and order situation in the State.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Railway Board chairman’s pat for staff
Snake Rescue team in action in Cuttack
Drastic fall in sale of ‘soda water’ in Berhampur
Ultimatum served on NIRTAR director
Naxals try to demoralise police: SP
Maoists to observe bandh on July 2
CPI (M) demands streamlining of PDS
Fast track training for new police recruits
V-C in the eye of a storm
Death of youths: outrage over ‘police inaction’
State accused of shielding criminals

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu