BJD president Naveen Patnaik
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bhubaneswar: Leader of the Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday accused the state's BJP government of failing to create confidence in the system, which led to the deaths of four women who immolated themselves over various issues in the last one month.
The BJD supremo's reaction came a day after a 13-year-old school-going girl died after allegedly immolating herself in Bargarh district.
"These four deaths are not stray cases -- there are many such girls who are dying in the most tragic way possible after being subjected to crime every day. Their desperation is not just personal tragedy. Each tragedy reflects the failure to hear their screams. The BJP administration is failing to create confidence in the system where our daughters feel safe, valued and heard," Patnaik said in a post on social media.
"Deeply saddened, shocked and anguished to know that another girl from Gaesilat, Bargarh has died after setting herself on fire. My condolences for the young girl and prayers are with the family members in the hour of grief. May God give the family members strength to bear this irreparable loss," he said.
Patnaik, who is also a five-time chief minister of Odisha, said, "It is deeply disturbing that there is a heartbreaking pattern in the way our girls are dousing themselves with inflammable to take their lives." With each passing away of innocent lives lies a pain of a daughter of Odisha, which became so unbearable that she saw no other way out than to end her life, Patnaik said.
"How long will the BJP govt wait to stop this heartbreaking pattern? The traumatic silence and inaction from the BJP govt leave the daughters of #Odisha more vulnerable," he added.
The school-going girl was the fourth in a series of young women dying of burn injuries across Odisha in the last one month.
A 20-year-old female student of a college in Balasore in northern Odisha immolated herself on July 12 after no action was allegedly taken over her sexual harassment complaint against her professor. She died two days later while undergoing treatment at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar.
On July 19, a 15-year-old girl suffered burn injuries in Balanga in coastal Odisha's Puri district. She died while undergoing treatment at AIIMS-Delhi on August 2. However, a controversy erupted as her mother claimed in the FIR that she was set on fire by three persons but police later concluded that no one else was involved in the incident, and her father made a video stating she was suffering from mental stress and died by suicide.
On August 6, a female college student died after she allegedly immolated herself at her house in Kendrapara district following her former boyfriend's threat to upload her intimate photographs on social media. Her father claimed that police had refused to lodge an FIR over harassment around six months ago.
The latest incident took place in Bargarh district in the western region on Monday as a 13-year-old girl immolated herself, and later succumbed to her injuries. Investigations were underway to ascertain the cause of the incident.
Besides, a college student was gang-raped at Gopalpur beach in Ganjam district on June 15, and a female student of a nursing college in Nabarangpur district died on August 10 following 24 days of treatment after consuming poison.