Bhubaneswar: Congress workers Saturday protested over what they alleged rising crimes against women in State and clashed with the police near Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s residence here.
Hundreds of Congress workers led by the party’s state president Bhakta Charan Das marched towards the CM’s residence on the Mahatma Gandhi Marg, shouting slogans denouncing the attacks on women.
Das alleged that over 1,600 cases of crimes against women, including 54 gang rapes, were registered in the last eight months.
“Schoolgirls in Malkangiri, Jajpur and Keonjhar districts have got pregnant while staying in state-run hostels. How is this possible?” he asked, demanding a reply from the chief minister.
Congress leader Meenakshi Bahinipati alleged that the victims of crimes against women were mostly tribal.
The Congress workers clashed with the police when they were stopped a few hundred metres away from the CM’s residence.
Several activists scuffled with the police who tried to prevent them from proceeding further.
