SP demands resignation of SCW chair in Pipili case

BHUBANESWAR: Demanding the resignation of chairperson of State Commission for Women on her distorted report on Pipili gang rape issue, workers and supporters of Samajwadi Party staged a rally at Lower PMG here on Monday. A five-member delegation of the party has submitted a memorandum to Governor Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare requesting immediate action.

In their memorandum, the party said the report of the State Commission for Women regarding the issue of Pipili gang rape was biased and fabricated. It was more meant for defending the accused rather than providing justice to the poor victim who is battling for life at SCB Medical College, they added.

The party also alleged that chairperson’s views reflects one-sided and partition approach which seems as if she is acting like the spokes person and agent of the ruling party.

“The report is not only painful rather betrays the basic objectives of the institution of Mahila Commission itself. Her august office is supposed to defend the dignity of the women of the State and to provide justice to the poor victims who succumb to exploitation and torture,” said Samajwadi Party Odisha unit president Rabi Behera.

Dharakot representative of Aska MP murdered

BRAHMAPUR: In a shocking incident, a worker of the Biju Janata Dal and Dharakot representative to Aska MP was murdered by some unidentified miscreants at Haripur village of Dharakot block in Ganjam district on Sunday. He was identified as Congress Nayak (37) of Haripur village.

The incident happened at Talasahi of Haripur village at Sunday evening. It is suspected that political animosity might be the reason behind the murder, though the police were in dark about the actual reason of the murder.

A deep injury was found on Nayak’s neck and it is suspected that he was attacked by a sharp weapon from the backside of the deceased. The police have reached at the spot and sent that body of the deceased for postmortem. Miscreants are absconding and no one is arrested in connection to the murder. The police investigation is going on into the matter, informed Dharakot police. 

Maoist fear haunts M’giri candidates for campaigning

MALKANGIRI: Following the warning to boycott the PRI poll by ultras in some areas of Malkangiri district, top leaders of different political party have left the idea to campaign in the district with a risky atmosphere, which is widely dominated by left wing extremists.

Comparatively other districts are ahead of the district in campaigning, though only a few day left for the first phase of the panchyat poll to be held on February 11. Still now the campaigning work is in half-way in the Maoist hit areas like Podia, Motu, MV-79, Govindpalli, Chitrakonda, Kalimela and other interior areas in the district. Besides Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and BJD veteran Pyari Mohan Mahapatra, top leaders of other parties have not toured yet to the district for campaign.

Candidates have not shown interest to campaign in the interior areas due to Maoist fear, as disobeying the diktat may cause trouble to them like the killing of former ZP chief Nanda Kartami and ZP member Somnath Madkami ahead of the last assembly election. Though the ultras have not issued any threat to any particular candidate so far, it is a risky affair for the candidates to go against the red rebels and their order to boycott the panchayat poll.

State Government has issued notification to deploy paramilitary force at the hypersensitive polling booths for the security of polling personnel, still the past incidents of Maoist attack on the polling officials have created panic among the polling personnel to be deployed in the Maoist-hit areas. It will be a challenge for the Government to finish the poll smoothly in the hypersensitive areas like Malkangiri where the Maoists rule over more than 100 GPs.

Parties gear up to woo voters in Gajapati

--violation of code of conducts for PRI poll against Parla MLA

PARLAKHEMUNDI: Candidates of the three major parties BJD, Congress and BJP in Gajapati district have started their door to door campaigns with their supporters to impress the voters as the countdown already started for the Panchayat election. The party candidates are geared up for the election which starts from February 11 in the district.

According to the schedule, election will be held for two Zilla Parishad (ZP) zones in Gosani block on February 11, four zones in Kasinagar and Gumma block on February 13, three zones in Raygarh and Nuagarh block on February 15, three zones of Mohana and R Udaygiri on February 17 and other two zones of Mohana block on February 19 respectively.

For six ZP seats of Gumma, Kasinagar and Gosani are very important for the Congress and BJD as the situation of the parties is strong, for which candidates of the Congress have started wooing its old voters and BJD to prove its popularity.

On the other hand, a complain regarding violation of code of conducts for election against Parlakhemundi MLA K Narayana Rao has been lodged before the District Magistrate by K Suriya Rao for allegedly abusing him in a public meeting at Ranipentha village under Kasinagar block in the district while campaigning for a Samiti Sabhya member CH Simadri.                                                                                  

2 of black pulsar gang arrested

BHUBANESWAR: Finally, the Commissionerate Police partly succeeded to arrest the members of the gang from the city on Saturday. They were identified as Dillip Yadav and Rahul Yadav from Bihar. Besides, the police also recovered some valuables, gun, cash, bike and other materials from the culprits.

The police said the inter-state dacoits are mainly involved in the loot, dacoity and robbery cases, which is clearly pointed out after arresting the duo from the city. Other members of the gang are absconding, added the police. Police have seized a Pulsar bike, two mobiles, Rs 17,000 in cash, master key, country-made gun and instruments, by which they used to break the boxes for loot, from the arrested duo.

There are more than 15 members in the black pulsar gang, who have created terror in the city, are from other States, according to the police. The gang was involved in more than 25 cases including Rs 3 lakh loot from HDFC bank under Kharvela Nagar police station on December 22 last year, loot incident near Keshari talkies and dacoity in front of HDFC bank.

They were expert in looting after breaking the careers in the bikes, dacoity by showing weapons and stealing bikes like professional looters. The police informed that they will arrest the others soon.            

Prof couple murder: police still in dark

BRAHMAPUR: The police are still in dark into the heinous double murder of the retired Professor couple of Ramkrushna Nagar in the city. Scientific team and dog squad have started their search operation and investigation into the matter, but the police were clueless about the reason of the murder. The police have taken the housemaid for interrogation after the incident.           

It may be noted that on Thursday night some miscreants murdered retired Professor couple at their residence at Ramkrushna Nagar in the city. On the very next day, after getting information, Baidyanathpur police station officials reached at the spot and recovered the bodies of Gopal Krushna Panigrahy (65), a retired zoology professor of Berhampur University, and Kamala Kumari Panigrahy (61), a retired zoology lecturer of Khallikote Autonomous College. Injury marks were found on the head of Prof Panigrahy, whose body was found in the front room whereas the body of his wife was found from the bedroom with external injury on her bodies.

After retirement, Prof Panigrahy and his retired wife were leaving in his Ramkrushnanagar apartment alone and their only daughter lives in Bhubaneswar. Taking this opportunity some miscreants looted huge amount of cash and jewelries from their house and killed them on Thursday night. The Godrej Almirah was opened, while police entered to the house.

Senior police officials including Brahmapur SP Safeen Ahmed K, DSP of Crime Subas Acharya, BN Pur IIC Deepak Mishra visited the spot, scientific team of the police are investigating into the matter.     

Stop PPP mode in education: AUPTF

BHUBANESWAR: All Utkal Primary Teachers’ Federation (AUPTF) opposed the current initiatives by the HRD Ministry to set up schools under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode in a Press conference here at the Prathamik Sikshya Bhavan on Saturaday.

Addressing the Press conference, State General Secretary of the federation Kamalakanta Tripathy said that the HRD Ministry is ready to hand over elementary education of the country in the hands of some corporate houses and business company, who will concentrate on their-return on investment than the social and academic outcome among the children.

He also said the Central Government has already opened 3,500 schools in the country out of proposed 6,000 model school and in Odisha the Government has initiated 111 PPP mode schools in the name of model schools. The decision is a major threat for the poor people of the country, he added.

“Undoubtedly, if this model comes in action in the country, it will hamper public education system and affect the effective implementation of the RTE Act and the national public education system will ruin by the so called PPP,” said the members of the federation.

On March 16, a massive rally will be organised at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi opposing the Government’s decision to establish PPP mode school in the country, informed AUPTF president Pramod Kumar Jhankar at the Press conference. A nationwide agitation will be organised to stop the PPP mode in education, he added.