District Congress hartal demanding booking of BJD MLA disrupts life

Statesman News service Nawarangpur, 18 September
The district Congress sponsored 12 hour hartal disrupted normal life here today. Shops and business establishments remained closed while vehicles, particularly the public transport, went off road.
The hartal was to exert pressure on the police to book local ruling BJD MLA Manohar Randhari for his alleged involvement in the torture of a lady former chairperson of Tentulikhunti block Prabhati Kandha.
On 15 September, Prabhati lodged a police complaint against Randhari alleging that during the elections in April this year she had given Rs. 4 lakh and gold ornaments weighing 70 gm in presence of some party activists which the legislator did not return. 
She alleged that the legislator attempted to have physical relationship with her but she strongly resisted it. Unhappy with her MLA Randhari is alleged to have hatched a conspiracy to remove her from the post of block chairperson. 
The police made a station diary entry of her complaint and claimed it is investigating the matter. 

Meanwhile the district youth BJD president Badri Narayan Singh, said in media conference that Prabhati never complaint about the harassment nor money before the district president and any executive members. After the no confidence motion she resigned from the chairperson post.
“It is a baseless and politically motivated charge that Prabhati is levelling now, “said Singh. The district secretary of the BJD Asis Ranjan Patnaik, alleged that the Congress is trying to politicise the matter and that the hartal was unwarranted as the police investigation is on.
Patnaik recalled that in 2000 Prabhati had resorted to similar tactics against another person and her charges did not stick as the court acauitted the person against whom she had levelled certain false charges.
The local Congress however stuck to its stand saying once the lady had lodged a complaint , it is the the duty of the police to register a case against the MLA and summon him for interrogation. Instead of taking action, the police has been dilly dallying to provide time to ruling BJD leaders to intimidate Prabhati, alleged Congress activists here.