In a blistering critique, BJD president and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has accused the ruling BJP of presiding over a “deteriorating law and order situation” in the state capital, Bhubaneswar.
Speaking out amid a series of shocking, violent incidents reported Monday, Patnaik warned that the government’s “reactive” approach is emboldening criminals and eroding public trust.
The flashpoint came with the brazen daylight shooting of Sudhanshu Khuntia, a 32-year-old lab assistant at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar.
But Khuntia’s death was just one in a grim tally of violence that unfolded across the city within hours. In the upscale Chandrasekharpur neighbourhood, a young man was stoned to death.
Compounding the horror, a respected school teacher honoured with the President’s Award for excellence in education, was viciously assaulted near a crowded railway station.
Patnaik, who led Odisha for 24 consecutive years until the BJP’s upset victory in the June 2024 assembly elections, took to social media to lambast the new administration under Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
Naveen posted on X in Odia:
Unrest in the state capital is growing, and there is an alarming rise in terror. Who will provide security for the people? In just one day in Bhubaneswar, an AMS employee was shot and brutally murdered, a young woman faced an attempted rape, and there was a gruesome murder in Chandrasekharapur. Additionally, a President’s Award-winning teacher was beaten to death at the railway station, instilling fear in everyone’s hearts. It seems that the police administration, under the BJP government, only becomes active after such incidents occur, which allows criminals to act without fear. Bullets are flying in broad daylight, and criminals are freely roaming the streets without hindrance. While the state’s law and order situation has deteriorated, it is surprising that the BJP government remains unalert. To prioritize people’s safety, the government must take strict measures to ensure a fear-free environment.
The former CM’s remarks come against the backdrop of national headlines dominated by the gang-rape of an Odisha woman in neighbouring West Bengal earlier this week.
As the sun sets on another bloodied day in Odisha’s capital, Patnaik’s call echoes louder.
