Parties attack Naveen Patnaik over burning of teacher

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha teacher who died after being set ablaze allegedly for refusing to withdraw a complaint of molestation was today cremated at her village in Puri district, even as Opposition parties targeted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the incident.

Attacking Patnaik, OJM president and Rajya Sabha MP Pyarimohan Mohatra asked him to give up his Home portfolio which he has been holding since the BJD government came to power in 2000.

"The rising number of crimes against women show that the Chief Minister is not capable of handling the Home department. It is high time that Patnaik should hand it over to some other minister," Mohapatra told reporters here.

An answer was also necessary from the state government why no action was taken despite the teacher's repeated appeals to the local, district and state authorities, he said.

BJP state women's wing president Simanti Jena said "No woman in Odisha is safe under the BJD government."

The Congress also criticised the state government for the teacher's death at a hospital in Vishakhapatnam yesterday.

The 36-year-old teacher of a school in Tikiri, who refused to withdraw an allegation of molestation against a school sub-inspector, was set on fire on Sunday night by an unidentified person.

A large number of people came out on the streets and held road blockades at different places condemning the incident and demanding punishment for the culprits.