Bhubaneswar: The suicide of the alleged Kunduli gang-rape victim has triggered widespread protests in the state embarrassing the Naveen Patnaik government.

While the Congress called for a daylong strike across the state, the BJP decided to observe a dawn-to-dusk shutdown in Kalahandi, Balangir and Koraput on Wednesday.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday again condoled the death and assured the people of "appropriate action" after the probe, being conducted by a judicial commission, got over.

The two Opposition parties, however, blamed the chief minister, who is in charge of the home department, for failing to provide justice to the girl, who had alleged that she was gang-raped by four uniformed men on October 10. Instead, attempts were made to hush up the case.

In Bhubaneswar, the BJP and the Congress on Tuesday demonstrated and made unsuccessful bids to reach the chief minister's residence.

At Kunduli, the victim's family members, neighbours and Congress leaders, including Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan, Tara Prasad Bahinipati and former local MP Pradeep Majhi, sat on a dharna with the body of the girl.

The demonstrators took the body from the local hospital and squatted on the Raipur-Visakhapatnam national highway, blocking the traffic for eight hours before agreeing to hand over it to the authorities for post-mortem and burial in the evening.

"The government failed to deliver justice to the victim. We demand action against all those responsible for her tragic end," said Prasad Harichandan.

BJP state general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan said the hartal would be peaceful and essential services would be kept out of its purview.

Fearing law and order problem, the state government has decided to keep all schools and colleges closed on Wednesday.