Odisha gangrape: Congress stages protest outside CM’s residence

The CID of Odisha Police on Wednesday, 18 June, began an investigation into the alleged gangrape of a college student on the Gopalpur beach on 15 June, an officer said.

The Opposition Congress staged a demonstration in front of chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi's residence in Bhubaneswar protesting the rise in crimes against women in the state.

A 20-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped late Sunday evening by a gang of 10 on the beach in Ganjam district, sparking outrage.

Odisha DGP Y.B. Khurania on 17 June declared the incident as a ‘red flag' case and handed over its investigation to CID Crime Branch. Earlier, personnel of the Gopalpur police station probing the incident arrested all 10 accused, including four minors.

Meanwhile, Congress workers led by Ajay Kumar Lallu, in-charge of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, demonstrated outside the CM’s residence and shouted anti-government slogans. There was a scuffle between Congress workers and security personnel before they courted arrest.

The Congress held the BJP government in the state responsible for the rise in crimes against women.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in an X post expressed her concern over the incident.

“The strongest words are not enough to condemn the brutality that was meted out to a student by ten men in Gopalpur, Odisha. Violence against women is increasing day by day in Odisha. In a state where the chief minister himself admits that about 44,000 women and children have disappeared in the last five years, not giving priority to women's safety is in itself an atrocity against women,” she said in the post.