Bhubaneswar, July 19 -- Former Odisha Chief Minister and BJD President Naveen Patnaik today strongly condemned the brutal incident in which a minor girl was set on fire in the Balanga area of Puri district.
In a statement issued here, Patnaik said he was deeply anguished to learn that such a heinous attempt to kill a minor took place in broad daylight.
"This has occurred just a week after the heart-wrenching self-immolation of a girl at Fakir Mohan College, who took the extreme step after being denied justice despite knocking on every door.
And only a month ago, a college girl was reportedly gang-raped by a group of youths at Gopalpur beach," he said.
Patnaik pointed out that such unthinkable acts of violence against women are now being...