Bhubaneswar: Taking ahead its fight for justice for around 414 students of Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), a constituent of Siksha O Anusandhan University (SOA) who fell prey to the fake placement racket in the institute, Students’ Congress activists took out a protest rally in the city today.
Demanding stern action against ITER and SUM Hospital owner Manoj Nayak, hundreds of activists burnt his effigy at the Master Canteen square. Resorting to sloganeering, the Students’ Congress activists, led by its president Itish Pradhan, accused Nayak of misusing a media house owned by him to quell the democratic agitation of the affected students. The activists also torched copies of the newspaper owned by the SOA founder during the protest.
The Students Congress activists demanded a CBI inquiry into the ITER fake placement row and the fire tragedy in SUM Hospital, also owned by Nayak, which killed 30 patients.
“Was it our mistake to fight for the rights of around 414 students of ITER college, who were duped by fake placement offers? We just want to know the answer to this question. When the Students’ Congress started protesting against it, Nayak started writing against us in the paper owned by him. I demand a CBI inquiry into the whole issue. I also appeal to bring me into the scope of investigation to find out what is the truth,” said Pradhan while talking to media and venting out his ire against Nayak.