The Odisha government on Saturday constituted a special investigation team to probe the kidnapping and murder of five-year-old girl in Nayagarh district and requested Orissa High Court to appoint a sitting judge to monitor the probe.
The five-member SIT is headed by IG of police Arun Botha and four senior CID officers, a notification issued by the Home Department said.
The State government constituted the SIT as per Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s announcement in the Assembly on Friday.
The team will probe into the case of the girl going missing from her home at Jadupur village in Nayagarh district on Juky 23. The girl went missing on July 14 and her skeletal remains were found in the backyard of her house on July 23. Later, DNA tests on the bones as well as that of her parents proved that it was of the five-year-old.
The incident came to light four months later when the girl’s parents arrived in front of the Assembly gate on Tuesday. A case was registered at Nayagarh sadar police station.
The Opposition BJP and Congress MLAs disrupted the proceedings of the Odisha Assembly for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday over the kidnapping and murder case. The issue was raised in the Assembly by Congress leader Narasingha Mishra as soon as the House assembled for the day.
The BJP members reiterated their demand for removal of Agriculture Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo from the Cabinet as his role in providing protection to the main accused in the case is not clear. They said the police have not been able to arrest any accused person in case even though over four months have passed since the incident.
Leader of the Opposition P.K. Naik of BJP accused Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of shielding the Agriculture Minister instead of giving justice to the victim’s family. His party has been demanding a CBI probe into the incident and the dismissal of Mr. Sahoo from the Cabinet.
A team of police officers headed by the Additional Director General of Crime Branch Yaswant Jethwa visited Jadupur village on Friday and conducted an on-the spot inquiry into the case.
