Demand for Justice: BJD Rallies for Judicial Probe into Student's Tragic Death

Hundreds of leaders and workers from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) organized demonstrations across three regions in Odisha on Monday, pressing for the formation of a judicial panel to investigate the self-immolation death of a woman student in Balasore.

Opposition figures, including several MLAs, gathered at Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) offices in Cuttack, Berhampur, and Sambalpur to demand a court-supervised judicial inquiry led by a sitting judge of the Orissa High Court. Debi Prasad Mishra, BJD senior vice-president, joined the protest in Cuttack and criticized influential figures for failing to help the student before her tragic death.

The 20-year-old student's death at AIIMS Bhubaneswar following a self-immolation attempt has ignited national outrage. The BJD rejected the current crime branch inquiry as inadequate, advocating for interrogating key figures including the Balasore MP and the state's Higher Education Minister. Protesters, who marched in various locations, submitted a memorandum to the Governor, emphasizing the need for an impartial judicial probe due to systemic failures across political and administrative domains.

(With inputs from agencies.)