Bhubaneswar: The residents of Tentulikhunti block in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district today observed a six-hour bandh to protest against police inaction in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in the locality a week ago.

The locals observed the strike from 8 am to 2 pm and sought immediate arrest of the accused person(s) and disclosure of the postmortem report. They also sought Rs 20 lakh compensation for the victim’s family.  

The bandh call received spontaneous support from the people of the block. Most of the shops and business entities in the locality remained closed during the strike.

The district administration deployed a platoon of police force at the block headquarters to maintain law and order during the six-hour bandh.

Nabarangpur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Bata Krushna Mishra met the agitators and assured them of quick action in the case.

The 10-year-old girl, who hailed from Kantagaon panchayat, had gone out to relieve herself in the evening hours of September 17 (Tuesday). However, she did not return home.

The girl’s family members launched a frantic search to trace her. The Class-V girl’s body was found in a bush in the locality at around 8 pm on Tuesday.

The family members of the girl alleged that she was raped and murdered by someone.