BJP demands CBI Inquiry into murder of tribal woman in Odisha's Tikiri, accuses state govt of being anti-tribal

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 1 : The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday demanded a CBI inquiry into the murder of a tribal woman at Tikiri in Odisha's Rayagada district.
Accusing the BJD government of being anti-tribal, the party alleged that the state government was protecting some "big fish" in the murder case.
Laxmi Majhi was allegedly burned alive by miscreants on December 21, 2023 and it comes almost 11 years after a woman teacher named Itishree was burned alive in the same Tikiri.
Laxmi, a handicapped tribal girl, was allegedly raped and then set ablaze. Her half-burnt body was recovered from an abandoned well on the premises of Chandrapur Hospital on the same day, December 21.
Family members have complained to the police that their daughter was raped and then burned to death. The body was later abandoned in a move to destroy evidence. They have reportedly accused a person named Mohapatra of this ghastly act.
The BJP has demanded justice for Laxmi Majhi. The BJP Mahila Morcha observed a six-hour bandh in Rayagada. On Sunday, a fact-finding team met the family members of the victim.
After an inquiry by the fact-finding team, Balabhadra Majhi, a former MP from Nabarangpur Loksabha constituency, said here in Bhubaneshwar that the Odisha government is anti-tribal.
"For the sake of industrialists, many tribals were killed in Jajpur, Maikancha and many other tribal areas. In the Laxmi Majhi murder case, the Odisha government also tried to save some big fish," he alleged.