Orissa Cong goes ahead with bandh in protest against trader's murder
BHUBANESWAR: Even as the police are yet to get concrete evidence regarding the involvement of the fugitive Dara Singh in Thursday's killing of a Muslim trader at Orissa's Padiabeda village or whether the incident has a communal angle to it, the ruling Congress has gone full steam for a statewide protest bandh on Wednesday.
Official sources here revealed that the two persons so far arrested have not confessed that it was Dara Singh who led the gang to attack on S K Rehman and torch him alive at the local weekly market in broad day light.
Minister of state for home Prasad Harichandan also parried all questions in this regard. ``All that I can say that the two arrested are accused persons,'' Mr Harichandan told The Times of India This has given rise to speculation that a common crime has been communalised by the ruling Congress for political gains in view of the approaching Lok Sabha elections.
State Congress president Hemananda Biswal and some ministers have directly thrown the blame on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They said that the murder was the handiwork of Dara Singh, an activist of BJP's sister organisation Bajrang Dal.
Mr Harichandan declined to be drawn into any controversy on the matter. He said that combing operations had been going n in full scale to nab the elusive Dara Singh and his accomplices involved in the crime. ``We hope to make a breakthrough soon,'' he added. The state government in the meantime has suspended four officials of the local Thakurmunda police station and one special branch police officer posted at Karajia in connection with the incident.
Meanwhile, to counter the Congress propaganda, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and its poll partner the BJP on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to president of India through the state governor demanding the dismissal of the Giridhar Gamang government under Article 356.
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