Congress stall Odisha Assly over gangrape of married dalit woman

Bhubaneswar,Mar 21 : Odisha Assembly Speaker P K Amat today adjourned the house till 1245 hours without conducting the question hour as Opposition Congress members stalled the business, demanding a statement from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the recent gangrape of a Dalit woman in Kendrapada district.

As soon as the House assembled for the day at 1030 hours, the Opposition members trooped into the well of the House and shouted slogans.

They showed the newspapers carrying the gangrape story and demanded a statement from the Chief Minister who was not present in the house.

As the House witnessed noisy scenes and plunged into a chaotic situation right from the begining of the question hour,the Speaker adjourned it at 1032 hours till 1245 hours.

The State Assembly yesterday also witnessed heated debate between the members of Opposition Congress and treasury bench on the rising incidences of rape and women atrocities cases in the state, particularly the gangrape of a minor girl in Malkangiri district.

The opposition members alleged that the government had failed to control crime against women and urged the Speaker to direct Mr Patnaik to make a statement on the recent incidents of rape in Malkangiri and Balasore district.

According to report, a married Dalit woman residing in Ghodadanda village under Patkura police station, was gangraped by three people in the presence of her ten-year-old daughter on the night of March 19.

The miscreants entered the house in the night and took away the husband of the victim and then gangraped the woman.

The victim had filed an FIR with the Patkura police station yesterday. No one has been arrested in connection with the crime.