Bhubaneswar, Sep 23 Odisha’s opposition BJD on Wednesday constituted a team to ascertain the facts behind the assault and sexual harassment of a young tourist couple near Kapilash Temple, a hilltop shrine, in Dhenkanal district.
The party blamed the state’s BJP government for the rise in crimes against women.
The police on Tuesday arrested three people in connection with the incident.
BJD president Naveen Patnaik formed a 10-member team including two women MLAs, Manorama Mohanty and Sujata Sahu, who will visit Kapilash and ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident, according to a statement issued by the party.
The team will also meet the Dhenkanal Superintendent of Police and submit a memorandum, it said.
The BJD also expressed concern over the safety and security of visitors at Kapilash and other important tourist and religious destinations across the state.
The opposition party also emphasised the need for effective policing, adequate security arrangements and prompt response mechanisms to ensure that visitors, particularly women and young people, can travel without fear.
The party’s women’s wing president Snehangini Chhuria came down heavily on the BJP government and blamed it for the rise in crimes against women.
“The manner in which a young woman and a man were subjected to abuse at Kapilas—coming just a day after an incident of sexual assault on a woman in Bihar had sparked a nationwide outcry—has raised questions regarding the state’s law and order situation,” Chhuria told reporters.
The police have arrested three middle-aged men after an alleged victim lodged a complaint and a video of their harassment went viral on social media. The incident took place on September 18 on an isolated stretch of a road leading to the famous Shiva temple atop the lush green Kapilash hills.
The viral video purportedly showed some people intercepting the bike-borne couple and assaulting the man, with the woman screaming for help.
PTI could not independently ascertain the veracity of the video.
The police have registered a case under various sections of the BNS for alleged sexual harassment, obscene act or song, and voluntarily causing hurt, besides the Information Technology Act.
(PTI News)
