The Congress is planning to stage a massive demonstration in front of the office of the DGP here on March 4 to protest against the “unlawful” arrest of party youth leaders in connection with the February 19 incident in Bhubaneswar. The Youth Congress leaders had intercepted Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s cavalcade and pelted eggs at his car. While two policemen were later suspended for dereliction of duties, the police arrested at least 15 YC leaders booking them under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC for allegedly attacking a cop in the melee.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, PCC president Prasad Harichandan said booking the youth leaders under the harsher section without any relevant evidence conclusively proves that the Government is trying to suppress the voice of the opposition by brute police force. “Had there been an attempt to strangulate a policeman in the scuffle, why the victim policeman had not made an immediate complaint,” Harichandan asked, adding that the police had booked the YC leaders under the attempt-to-murder charge without even sending the victim for a medical examination.
Party sources said more than 5,000 Congress workers would stage the demonstrate in front of the DGP office on Wednesday, which would be attended among others by a six-member action committee comprising the PCC chief, former party presidents Jayadev Jena and Niranjan Patnaik, leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra and senior party leaders lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra and Chiranjib Biswal.