Tribal girl suicide: Shutdown hits normal life in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Normal life was hit across Odisha today due to a dawn-to-dusk shutdown called separately by the Congress and the BJP to seek justice for a 14-year-old tribal girl who committed suicide after alleging rape by four men in uniform three months ago.

Shops, business establishments, markets, offices, banks and financial institutions remained shut, while vehicular movement came to a grinding halt across the state during the shutdown, police said.

Many trains were stopped at different places including Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur and Bhadrak as strike supporters staged rail roko leaving a large number of passengers stranded.

Roads wore a deserted look all over and buses also stayed off roads fearing violence.

Schools and colleges across the state remained closed for the safety of students, while examinations scheduled for the day would be shifted to a suitable date, officials said.

As a precautionary measure, elaborate security arrangements have also been made, a senior police officer said adding bandh and hartal remained by and large peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.