Odisha observes bandh over Balasore student's self-immolation case
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
Bhadrak: Several opposition parties in Odisha observed a state-wide bandh on Thursday to protest against the death of a 20-year-old student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, who died after attempting self-immolation.Shops remained shut and traffic was disrupted in many areas, including Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj. In Bhadrak, markets were closed and public transport was affected.The bandh also caused long traffic jams on the Chennai-Kolkata Highway, where trucks and other vehicles were left stranded. Bus services were impacted in different parts of the state.The Congress party, along with other opposition groups, including the All India Forward Bloc, led the bandh. They blamed the state government for failing to respond to the student's repeated cries for help.Protesters demanded a proper investigation into the case and called for stronger measures to ensure the safety and justice for women in the state.A day earlier, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had also taken to the streets and called for a 'Balasore Bandh' in protest against the Odisha government. BJD chief and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik strongly criticised the state government and the police over the alleged use of force against BJD workers who were protesting in connection with the case.On Tuesday, eight opposition parties, including the Congress, jointly called for an ' Odisha Bandh ' on July 17, demanding the resignation of the State Higher Education Minister and a judicial investigation into the matter.The 20-year-old student had allegedly faced sustained sexual harassment by the Head of Department (HoD) at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore. Despite filing a formal complaint and repeatedly seeking help from the college principal, her concerns reportedly went unaddressed, leading her to set herself on fire on campus last Saturday.She was first admitted to Balasore district hospital and later shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on Monday, according to hospital authorities.Following the incident, the college's HoD, Samira Kumar Sahu, and Principal, Dilip Ghose, have been arrested in connection with the case.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Print
10 minutes ago
- The Print
Jagdeep Dhankhar: Outspoken Vice President who took on judiciary, had daily run-ins with opposition
While he was admitted to AIIMS for a few days in March this year and appeared not so well at a few occasions, he has been mostly seen as lively and energetic in his public appearances, including in Parliament. The 74-year-old leader, who cited medical reasons to resign from the Vice President's post after an eventful day in Rajya Sabha under his chairmanship, had said this month only at an event that he would retire at the 'right time', subject to 'divine interventions'. New Delhi, Jul 21 (PTI) Jagdeep Dhankhar, who once called himself a 'reluctant politician', took on the Judiciary over the issue of separation of powers and had face-offs with the opposition in the Rajya Sabha virtually every day during his stint as the Vice President. Dhankhar's abrupt resignation nearly two years before his tenure was to end followed a day of surprising developments in the Rajya Sabha for the government, as an opposition-sponsored notice for a motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma was submitted to him and he mentioned it in the House. The development came as a jolt to the ruling alliance, which had sponsored a similar notice in the Lok Sabha and taken the opposition on board. Dhankhar was the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's candidate in the 2022 election for Vice President, who is the ex-officio Chair of the Rajya Sabha. He is the third Vice President of India after V V Giri and R Venkataraman to resign during tenure. Giri and Venkataraman had resigned from the post of Vice President to contest the presidential election. Dhankhar will also go down in history as the only vice president against whom the opposition brought a notice of removal for 'partisan' conduct as the chairman of the Upper House. Unmindful of the notice, which was rejected by Deputy Chair Harivansh, Dhankhar had dubbed it as a 'rusted' vegetable-cutting knife which was used for a bypass surgery. Dhankhar, who had been associated with the Janata Dal and the Congress, joined the BJP only in 2008 after a hiatus of nearly a decade. He championed issues related to the Other Backward Classes, including the grant of OBC status to the Jat community in Rajasthan. While his surprise appointment as the West Bengal governor in 2019 brought him back to the political limelight, he did not shy away from the hurly-burly of politics and was caught in frequent run-ins with the state's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). As the vice president and Chair of the Rajya Sabha, his frequent verbal clashes went beyond the TMC. On a variety of issues, from House disruptions to allegations of bills being passed with little discussion, he took on the opposition. Dhankhar, in particular, targeted top lawyers who are also Rajya Sabha members representing opposition parties, especially the Congress. A lawyer by profession, Dhankhar took on the Judiciary, especially on the issue of separation of powers. He was harsh in his criticism of the Supreme Court decision to strike down the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act which sought to overturn the collegium system of appointing SC and high court judges. In the presence of then Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, he had questioned the top court for striking down a law passed with near unanimity by the two Houses. He had also slammed MPs, saying when the law was struck down, there was 'not even a whisper' of protest by the lawmakers. Designated as Senior Advocate by the Rajasthan High Court in 1990, Dhankhar had practised primarily in the Supreme Court and his focus area of litigation was steel, coal, mining and international commercial arbitration, amongst others. As a lawyer, he was associated with the black buck case involving actor Salman Khan and had played a key role in getting him bail. He appeared in various high courts in the country till assuming the office of the West Bengal governor in July 2019. Dhankhar, who took to cricket in his school days and also had keen interest in spirituality and meditation, began his political journey with the Janata Dal and won the Lok Sabha elections in 1989, held under the shadow of the Bofors scandal, from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. He had a brief stint as Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs under Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. In his initial journey as a politician, Dhankhar was influenced by Devi Lal and later shifted to the Congress during the tenure of Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao. After hanging up his boots as a member of the Rajasthan legislative assembly, Dhankhar focused on his legal career, practising as a lawyer in the Supreme Court. While naming him as the NDA candidate for the vice president's post, BJP had described him as 'Kisan putra', a move seen in the political circles aimed at reaching out to the politically significant Jat community which had participated in huge numbers in the year-long farmers' protests against agriculture reform measures unveiled in June 2020. After his election as the vice president. Dhankhar met several groups of farmers in the national capital, Haryana and Rajasthan, urging them to go beyond agriculture and get into food processing and marketing to increase income. On one occasion, his words sounded like a harsh criticism of the Modi government. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the centenary of ICAR-CIRCOT in Mumbai in December 2024, Dhankhar had said, 'Agriculture minister, I request you to please tell me, what was promised to the farmer? Why was the promise not fulfilled? What should we do to fulfil the promise? 'There was a movement last year, there is a movement this year, too.' 'The wheel of time is turning, we are not doing anything. For the first time, I have seen India changing. For the first time, I am realising that developing India is not our dream but our goal. India was never at such heights in the world. 'When this is happening, then why is my farmer worried and suffering? The farmer is the only one who is helpless,' Dhankhar had said, reaching out to the farmers. Born on May 18, 1951, in village Kithana in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, Dhankhar went to Sainik School, Chittorgarh on full scholarship. PTI NAB KR BJ RT This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
News18
19 minutes ago
- News18
Who Will Blink First? Congress-Tharoor Discomfort Apparent On Day 1 Of Monsoon Session
Last Updated: During Shashi Tharoor's first meeting with party colleagues, there was a keen sense of discomfort as many of them were unhappy about his controversial comments on Operation Sindoor For Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, the first day of the monsoon session in Parliament on Monday may have felt like his first day in school. Tharoor's day began at 10.15 am with a meeting of Congress MPs to discuss party strategy during the session, which will end next month. During this meeting, however, there was a keen sense of discomfort as many of his colleagues were unhappy about his controversial comments after Operation Sindoor. This meeting, too, came a day after his viral remarks on prioritising nation over party, leading Congress leader V Muraleedharan to suggest excluding Tharoor from all party events in Kerala. According to party sources, there is no such decision yet but Tharoor knew he had once again stirred the top leadership. During the meeting, some leaders spoke to him but he remained mostly silent, they said. Outside, however, Tharoor was seen interacting with BJP leaders like Suresh Gopi, also from Kerala, and the two exchanged numbers. He met Tejaswi Surya, with whom he had been part of a delegation to the US, and Praful Patel. At one point, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi approached Tharoor and joked: 'Now that you said nation first, the Congress thinks you are joining the BJP", to which Tharoor merely smiled. The Congress seems uncertain on how to handle Tharoor. In Kerala, there is evident animosity towards him, leading to open and direct attacks. The state Congress believes his words will only benefit the CPI(M) and the BJP, which is gradually gaining ground. But the Congress central leadership is hesitant to address him. They feel that taking action against Tharoor on issues like national security would be politically damaging. In parliament corridors, there was a brief encounter between KC Venugopal and Tharoor. Venugopal is powerful and close to the Gandhis but is said to belong to a different camp than Tharoor, with whom he rarely sees eye to eye. When urged by the media, he approached Tharoor to state he had no issues with him. But attempts to take pictures together were unsuccessful. Both sides are observing and gauging each other, waiting to see who will blink first. view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 23:38 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
33 minutes ago
- NDTV
UP Court Accepts Plea Against Rahul Gandhi Over Statement Against Sikhs
Varanasi: An MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi on Monday accepted for hearing a petition filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his statement on Sikhs during his visit to the United States. Advocate Vivek Shankar Tiwari said a petition was filed in the court regarding the alleged objectionable statement made by Gandhi about Sikhs during his US visit in September 2024. It was dismissed by the additional chief judicial magistrate (special MP-MLA court) after hearing on November 28 last year. Advocate Vivek Shankar Tiwari said a revision petition was filed in the Sessions Court and Additional District and Sessions Judge, Varanasi (MP-MLA court), Yajuvendra Vikram Singh accepted the plea on Monday for hearing. In the petition, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha has been accused of hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community with his "inflammatory" statement made in the US. It has also been claimed in the petition that Khalistani terrorist Gurwant Singh Pannu had supported Gandhi's statement.
