The rape of three minors in Balimela MV‑62 village, Malkangiri district, triggered sharp exchanges in the Odisha Assembly on Friday.
Congress and BJD legislators accused the government of failing to ensure women’s safety, while Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan rejected the charges and praised the administration’s response.
The Law Minister informed the House that the incident occurred on November 23, and the victims’ families lodged an FIR on November 25. Police registered a case under the POCSO Act, collected forensic evidence, recorded statements, and arrested the accused on November 26. He stressed that the government prioritises women’s safety and has strengthened conviction rates in POCSO cases.
Harichandan highlighted that crimes against women have declined since the new government took office. Rape cases dropped by 3.3%, acid attacks by 66.7%, and dowry‑related crimes by 20.6%. He noted that over 9,000 police and fire personnel were recruited in the past 15 months, women and child desks operate in all 649 police stations, and 71 child‑friendly stations and 24 special POCSO courts are functional.
Congress MLA Ashok Das argued that the Malkangiri case reflects a wider pattern of assaults across Odisha, citing 2,933 rape cases and 8,270 abduction cases registered between June 2024 and July 2025. Legislators Mangu Khilla and Goutam Buddha Das accused the government of indifference, saying women’s safety has become a “mockery.”
BJP MLAs Babu Singh and Irasis Acharya countered by pointing to incidents of violence against women during previous Congress and BJD governments, accusing the opposition of politicising the issue.
