BHUBANESWAR: The state government's decision to begin a court-monitored SIT probe into the
Kunduli rape and suicide case has failed to mollify opposition parties. As the February 24 byelection in Bijepur approaches, both
Congress and BJP on Thursday sought chief minister
Naveen Patnaik's resignation for 'failing' to give justice to the 14-year-old.
Hitting the streets with hundreds of supporters, Congress leaders tried to gherao Naveen's home before being stopped by the police near Shishu Bhawan, about two kilometres away from his house. The Raj Mahal-Shishu Bhawan route turned into a war zone as protesters hurled eggs at the police while marching towards the chief minister's residence. Several Congress leaders and supporters were detained.
"We will not relent until Naveen resigns. He is in charge of the home department and it is his department that has failed to arrest those who raped the girl. The government boasts of women's safety, but it has no concern for them in reality," Congress state president
Prasad Harichandan said.
Another Congress leader, Pradeep Majhi, said the court-monitored SIT probe would do no good. "The government is shedding crocodile tears over the girl's death. We saw the slackness of the police and the Crime Branch. The government then ordered a judicial probe. When three agencies have failed to give the girl justice, how will a new probe benefit her family," Majhi asked.
The BJP, too, upped the ante against Naveen. Union minister
Dharmendra Pradhan said the SIT probe was an eyewash. "The chief minister's motive behind ordering the SIT probe was to avoid a CBI investigation. The girl had accused a top police officer of bribing her. Why did the government not hand over the case to the CBI? Naveen should step down," he said.
The BJD, meanwhile, accused the opposition parties of raking up the issue to gain political mileage ahead of the bypoll. "We can understand the opposition's reasons for politicizing the issue. They do not want justice for the girl's family. Pradhan himself had earlier sought an SIT probe. Now he is crying for a CBI probe," party spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Pratap Deb said.
