CPM stages protest, seeks justice for nursing student

CPM activists staged a protest march against the state government at Balichowki in Mandi district on Thursday, highlighting local demands with a primary focus on seeking justice for nursing student Anjana Thakur, a native of Seraj, who died under mysterious circumstances last month.

Anjana was studying at a private nursing college at Sunder Nagar in Mandi, and was taken in a critical condition to the Ner Chowk hospital from her college hostel.

The family of victim alleges foul play behind her death.

Following the rally, which featured slogans like “Justice for Anjana”, a public meeting was held at Bali Chowki.

Speakers at the meeting, including CPM state secretary Dr Omkar Shaad, district secretary Kushal Bhardwaj, Bina Vaidya and Mahender Rana, said the police had labelled the incident as an accident. They, however, alleged conspiracy behind her death.

They strongly condemned the government’s handling of the case.

They emphasised the government’s “failure” to address growing issues such as inflation and unemployment, which had left the state’s youth disillusioned and vulnerable to the dangers of addiction.

The protesters further criticised the state of public services, pointing out the shortage of doctors in hospitals and teachers in schools.

They also highlighted the disparity in investigations, pointing out that while the death of a ‘samosa’ warranted judicial inquiry, no thorough investigation had been conducted in the case of Anjana’s death.

The CPM activists pledged to continue fighting for justice for Anjana.