Bhubaneswar, January 20 (IANS). Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday expressed deep grief over the recent murder of a youth from the minority community over allegations of illegal cattle smuggling in the state’s Balasore district.
Patnaik expressed his grief during a meeting of party leaders at Naveen Niwas. Following instructions from the BJD president, a delegation of party leaders went to Balasore on Tuesday to investigate the alleged murder of Sheikh Makrand Muhammad, a resident of Astiya village under Balasore Sadar police limits.
Speaking to reporters, BJD leader Sanjay Das Barma alleged that such a horrific incident had never happened in a peaceful state like Odisha since independence.
“The BJD president has expressed deep grief over the incident, and as per his instructions, a high-level delegation led by MP Sulta Dev, senior leader and former minister Prafulla Samal, and Bhadrak Municipality Chairperson Gulamaki Habib visited the house of deceased Muhammad in Balasore, where they would meet his family members and district police officials,” Das Burma said.
He further alleged that the murder of the minority youth is a clear example of the poor law and order situation in the state and increasing attacks on minorities after the double-engine government came to power in the state.
Das Burma also said that the regional party has strongly condemned the Balasore incident. He said that the BJD supremo wants to know all the details about this incident.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das also hit out at the state government, alleging that atrocities against minorities, Dalits and tribals have increased after the BJP came to power.
The family members of the deceased alleged that he suffered serious injuries in an attack by some cow vigilantes on January 14. Upon receiving information, local police reached the spot and took him to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
–IANS
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