BJP blames govt, cops for woman’s death

Bhubaneswar: The BJP on Tuesday targeted the government alleging the death of a pregnant woman, Sulabati Naik, just after she was released from jail in Rayagada on January 11, as a case of murder. BJP MLA Mukesh Mahaling said the local police and the state government are fully responsible for her death.
In a press conference held at the state office, Mahaling said that a BJP delegation visited Kashipur to find out about the tragic death of Sulabati. The delegation found that Sulabati, who was at her ninth month of pregnancy along with local residents were agitating against their displacement due to the establishment of Utkal Alumina following which she was arrested by the police. “The police used force, beat up the agitators and took them to the police station,” Mahaling said.
The BJP MLA said that the delegation came to know that the police forcibly arrested as many as 14 women including Sulabati. “She was kept in a room with 14 to 15 people instead of a special room. Despite her deteriorating condition, the jail authorities have done nothing,” he said.
Mahaling said that after coming out on bail on January 10, Sulabati gave birth to a baby boy in the hospital and was later shifted to Koraput Medical College as her condition deteriorate where doctors declared her dead,” he said. tnn