The AICC fact finding team for the Gopalpur gang rape case on Tuesday alleged that they had not been given an appointment to meet with chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi.

Addressing a press conference here at Congress Bhavan, the convenor of the AICC fact-finding team Deepa Dasmunshi, said: “We wanted to meet chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi. Our Pradesh Congress president Bhakta Charan Das had sought an appointment with the chief minister. As women, we wanted to share our concerns with the chief minister on the rising crime against women. But the chief minister was least bothered.”

She said: “We visited the Gopalpur beach where a 20-year-old woman was gang raped. Later, we visited other areas including the chief minister’s home district where a girl was raped and murdered. We have found some shocking revelations. We will explain it clearly in our report and submit it to the AICC president. We will then address a press conference in Delhi on the issue.”

On being asked whether she met the Gopalpur gang rape victim, she said: “This is a sensitive issue and we are concerned about the psychological status of the victim. We did not meet the victim. But in another rape and murder case reported in Keonjhar, we met the family members. Everything will be reflected in the report.”

On the denial of an appointment with the chief minister Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das said: “I had written a letter seeking an appointment. I even telephoned the chief minister’s office, but there was no response from their side. This is very unfortunate.”

Another member of the team Ranjeet Ranjan said: “In the last few days, three cases of gang rape have been reported in Odisha. We visited a number of places to ascertain the reason behind the rise in crime against women. There are more than 65,000 crimes reported against women. We will meet President Droupadi Murmu and apprise her about the crime against women.”

Another member, Praniti Shinde, said: “It’s very unfortunate that the chief minister, Majhi, is heading the department, but the police completely fail to check the crime against women.”

The chief minister’s office is yet to respond to this allegation.