Accusing the Commissionerate police of acting in a partisan manner and condemning the Bhubaneswar police for shielding controversial city Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, BJP leaders on Thursday gheraoed the police headquarters here and handed over a memorandum addressed to the DGP. Additional DG (law and Order) Satyajit Mohanty received the memorandum on behalf of DGP KB Singh.
Hundreds of BJP activists led by senior party leaders came to the police headquarters in a rally from the Netaji Museum holding placards, banners and shouting slogans and gheraoed the office of the DGP. A minor scuffle ensued between BJP activists and police when the former tried to get inside the police headquarters breaking a twin barricade. Around 12 platoons of police were deployed to avert any untoward incident.
Criticising the Commissionerate police, the BJP leaders alleged that while the Wednesday’s dawn-to-dusk Bhubaneswar Bandh, called by the party, was passing off incident-free, the Bhubaneswar police acted as mute spectators when some ruling BJD activists ran amuck holding counter rallies and confronted with BJP picketers. “The Bhubaneswar police were responsible for the Wednesday’s ugly scenes,” they alleged.
Demanding action against the erring policemen and the BJD activists for the violence, appropriate police action against the Bhubaneswar Mayor over the sex tape and a proper probe into the mysterious death of Bhubaneswar engineering student Rishi, a delegation of BJP leaders submitted the memorandum. Receiving the memorandum, ADG Mohanty assured that appropriate action would be taken after discussing the demands with the DGP and other senior police officers.