Bhubaneswar, Nov 16 (PTI) Activists of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, Tuesday hurled tomatoes at police personnel when they were intercepted by the law enforcers from proceeding towards the chief minister's residence.

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The NSUI demonstrators were marching to ‘Naveen Nivas', the chief minister's residence, demanding the dismissal of minister D S Mishra who has been accused of having close links with the prime accused in the murder of a woman teacher.

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The police intercepted the NSUI activists near Forest Park where the protesters, carrying flags and raising slogans against the BJD government, tried to break barricades.

A scuffle broke out between the two sides, following which over 150 protestors were detained, the police said.

NSUI Odisha president Yashir Nawaz accused the police of being “agents” of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the chief minister of shielding Mishra.

“The struggle will continue,” state Congress leaders said.

Congress leaders Suresh Routray and Satya Prakash Nayak also attended the rally.

Nayak alleged that the government was trying to “hush up” the matter and “protect” the minister.

The NSUI also staged protests in front of the DGP's camp office in Bhubaneswar.

In another incident, Union minister Bisweshwar Tudu also faced the ire of Congress workers during his visit to Nuagaon block in Jagatsinghpur district.

The protesters hurled eggs at his vehicle and showed black flags to protest against price rise and the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.

Tudu dismissed such protests, saying Congress cannot stop the government from holding programmes.

Mishra has been in the eye of the storm ever since the prime accused in the teacher's murder case fled from police custody on October 17 night. He was rearrested two days later along with another suspect.

The 24-year-old teacher's half-charred body was exhumed from the playground of a private school at Mahaling in Kalahandi district on October 19.

She was a teacher in the school and the prime accused was the president of the school management committee.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who has faced several protests by the opposition parties, has maintained a silence on the issue.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJD has urged the opposition parties to refrain from politicising the incident.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)