Bhubaneswar, April 4: A woman, who claimed to be the-sister-in-law of Cuttack-Barabati legislator Debashish Samantray, today brought allegations of mental harassment against the BJD leader.

The woman, Sikha Mohanty, also claimed to have submitted a written petition with the State Commission for Women.

"My husband is suffering from cancer. He and Debashish used to run a factory in Pondicherry as partners, which was later sold. But, he is not giving my husband's share of the money. For the past 15 years, he has been harassing us mentally. We had also lodged a police complaint in Cuttack last year," alleged Mohanty. She also threatened to meet chief minister Naveen Patnaik if she failed to get justice.

However, Samantray was not available for comments.

In another incident, police today arrested four members of the Congress's students' wing, the National Students' Union of India, including its state president Itish Kumar Pradhan. Yesterday, the four were detained as they tried to march towards Naveen Nivas, the chief minister's residence in Bhubaneswar.

The student leaders were on their way to Naveen's residence to teach him how to speak and write in Odia. They were later sent to Jharapada jail after their bail plea was rejected. The National Students' Union of India has been criticising Naveen's ignorance about Odia language and protesting against it since April 1. The organisation took out a rally on that day from the Congress Bhavan and marched towards Naveen's residence, armed with chalks, slates and Chhabila Madhu Barnabodha (a popular book for beginners learning Odia). The protesters also scuffled with the police at Sishu Bhavan Square when they tried to break a barricade and march towards the chief minister's residence.

"Though Naveen has been ruling the state since 2000, it is shameful that he does not know the language of the state, and that hurts the sentiments of the people of Odisha. We will continue our agitation till the chief minister speaks and writes in Odia," Pradhan said.