Protest in Odisha after blind girl found dead

Bhubaneswar  :  Hundreds of angry residents staged protests for several hours in Odisha’s Puri district Thursday after a blind girl was found dead in a forest near her village, police said.

The protestrs blocked the Puri-Konark road after the 14-year-old girl was found dead in a forest near Beladala village, about 75 km from here.

The locals suspect the girl was raped before she was murdered.

“There have been allegations of rape and murder, and it cannot be ruled out. Police have rushed to the site and started an investigation,” Superintendent of Police Anup Sahu told IANS.

The girl was a student of a blind school in the state capital Bhubaneswar and had gone to her village for summer vacation. Family members said she went missing outside their house, where she was sleeping along with other family members due to searing heat.

A search was launched around midnight and her dead body was found in a nearby forest, police said.