Clashes erupt near CM’s residence over Gopalpur incident

Bhubaneswar
Tensions flared in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday as Congress party workers clashed with Odisha Police near the residence of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The confrontation occurred during a protest march against the recent gang rape of a college student at Gopalpur sea beach in Ganjam district on June 15.

The scuffle broke out when police personnel blocked Congress leaders and supporters from gheraoing the Chief Minister’s residence. The opposition party was demanding immediate action and accountability over the horrific crime. As the protest intensified, several senior Congress leaders including State in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu, CLP leader Ramchandra Kadam, MLAs Tara Prasad Bahinipati and Ashok Das, along with Youth Congress President Ranjit Patra and NSUI State President Udit Pradhan, were arrested.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took to social media platform ‘X’ to condemn the incident, stating, No words are strong enough to condemn the brutalities perpetrated against a female student by ten persons in Gopalpur of Odisha. Incidents of violence against women have been rising each day in Odisha. She further highlighted that nearly 44,000 women and children have gone missing in the state over the past five years, calling it a gross failure in ensuring safety.

Ajay Kumar Lallu, leading the protest, demanded Chief Minister Majhi’s resignation, accusing him of losing control over law and order.

Meanwhile, Odisha Crime Branch’s Crime Against Women and Children Wing initiated a high-level probe into the case. On Wednesday, officials visited the Gopalpur police station and the crime scene. Odisha DGP Yogesh Bahadur Khurania had earlier directed the case to be classified as a Red Flag investigation, now being supervised directly by IG (CAW&CW) Shyni S.