Bhubaneswar Bandh called off after judicial probe order into assault on Major, fiancée

The BJD has withdrawn the Bhubaneswar bandh that was originally planned for September 24, according to the latest reports on Monday. The decision to call off the strike was announced during a press conference held by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), following the government’s agreed to an independent investigation into the matter.

The bandh, which was to last six hours in Odisha’s capital on Tuesday, had been organized in response to the ongoing controversial Bharatpur Army Major row. Senior BJD leader Debiprasad Mishra had earlier announced the bandh after receiving approval from party president Naveen Patnaik.

BJD leader Arun Sahu had mentioned that the hartal would take place from 6 AM to 1 PM on the scheduled day, and Ashok Panda had urged Bhubaneswar residents to support the bandh.

The incident behind the strike occurred on September 15, when an Army major and his fiancée were assaulted and harassed by miscreants while returning from a hotel. When they tried to file an FIR at Bharatpur police station, they were reportedly mistreated, and the woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by the police officers.

In response, the police arrested seven youths involved in the harassment and suspended five officers, including Inspector-in-Charge Dinakrushna Mishra, Sub-Inspector Baisalini Panda, Assistant Sub-Inspectors Salilamayee Sahoo and Sagarika Rath, and Constable Balaram Handa. However, the seven accused were released on bail just four hours after their arrest. Currently, the Odisha Crime Branch is investigating the case.