Bhubaneswar: The BJD president and Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, Naveen Patnaik strongly condemned the police “excess” and described the action as “barbaric and inhuman”. He said such brutality on peaceful protesters is not acceptable.

Taking to X, Patnaik said, “The right to democratic protest is under grave threat in #Odisha. Today, the @bjd_odisha exercised its constitutional right to hold a peaceful demonstration, protesting the tragic death of a 20-year-old girl student -- a victim of systemic apathy and sheer betrayal.”

“As BJD leaders marched in a disciplined manner towards Lok Seva Bhawan, the police unhesitatingly used water cannons to disperse the peaceful crowd. Shockingly, they even fired rubber bullets without any provocation,” he added. Rajya Sabha member Sulata Deo claimed she was hit by a rubber bullet and lost consciousness for some time. “The police resorted to brutality without provocation,” she alleged.

Former minister Sudam Marndi alleged that party leader Priti Ranjan Gharai was also fired with rubber bullets and was admitted to a private hospital. Former minister Pranab Prakash Das was also admitted to a private hospital after sustaining severe injury on his leg, BJD said in a statement.

Patnaik, who was also in charge of the Home department for 24 years during his tenure as chief minister, alleged that the police used heavy-handed tactics to sabotage the BJD’s peaceful march.

Patnaik said the BJD will continue its fight until justice is served for the college student who lost her life. “Neither water cannons nor rubber bullets can weaken our resolve. Let it be clear: no force can stifle our commitment to stand up for justice and uphold the democratic rights of the people of #Odisha,” he said in a social media post.

Commissioner of Police S Dev Datta Singh, however, said, “The police have worked under the framework of the democratic system. We respect people’s liberty and therefore reacted to the situation in a controlled manner. The police have taken action to uphold democracy, used water cannon and tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.”

The Commissioner of Police said that a political party was given permission to hold a protest at Lower PMG Square but not to march towards Lok Seva Bhawan. After the police used water cannon and tear gas shells, the BJD workers left the place and some of them, around 100 people, were detained and taken away from the agitation site, an official said.