India News | Teacher Murder Case: BJP Holds Protest During CM's Visit to Cuttack

Bhubaneswar, Nov 10 (PTI) With Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik maintaining a silence over the demand for sacking the Minister of State for Home for his alleged close links with the prime accused in the Kalahandi teacher murder case, the BJP held protests in Cuttack during his visit to the city on Wednesday.

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Carrying black flags and raising ‘go back' slogans' at Trisulia square in Cuttack, and Naraj, the BJP members demanded justice for the teacher and the removal of D S Mishra from the post of Minister of State for Home.

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They were later detained by police.

The chief minister was in Cuttack district for inaugurating a state-of-the-art mega dairy processing plant at Arilo near Cuttack city.

The 24-year-old woman teacher went missing on October 8 and her half-burnt decomposed body was exhumed from the playground of the private school in Kalahandi district on October 19.

The opposition has been demanding Mishra's ouster, alleging that he was close to the prime accused, who managed to escape on October 17 from a police barrack in Bolangir where he was detained in connection with the alleged abduction of the teacher. The accused was arrested two days later along with another suspect.

Patnaik had shared the dais with Mishra during a government programme in Kalahandi on Monday, sending a clear message to the opposition parties that he has faith in the beleaguered minister.

BJP national general secretary Daggubati Purandeswari alleged that Mishra's presence at the programme indicated that the government was giving protection to the tainted minister.

“We demand that Mishra should be sacked and there should be a probe against him,” Purandeswari, who is also Odisha BJP in-charge, said in Bargarh.

In Bhubaneswar, members of the ABVP, a students' wing affiliated to the RSS, staged a march to Patnaik's residence, demanding Mishra's removal and strict punishment to the accused.

The demonstrators were stopped by police on the route, following which both sides scuffled and the protesters were detained.

The BJP also held protests in Baripada, where several party workers were injured after they clashed with the law enforcers during the march to the SP's office for submitting a memorandum.

Meanwhile, Congress activists raised black flags and shouted slogans as the car of minister Tusharkanti Behera passed by during his visit to Kalahandi.

The BJD, however, said the opposition had failed in its attempt to malign the government.

(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)