Breakthrough in Pari murder case, one arrested
By Kishore Mohapatra
Nayagarh, Dec. 20: In a major breakthrough, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Odisha Crime Branch on Sunday arrested a person for his alleged involvement in the sensational abduction and subsequent murder of five-year-old Nayagarh girl ‘Pari.’
Through a press release, the SIT confirmed that the arrestee is a resident of Jadupur in Nayagarh district, which is the native village of the minor girl who was allegedly kidnapped on July 14 and later murdered.
The accused, whose name was yet to be revealed, will be produced before a POCSO court in Nayagarh on Monday, the release stated.
The investigating team booked the accused under sections 376-A (intercourse), 376AB (rape on woman under 12 years of age), 364 kidnapping for murder, 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of IPC read with section 6 of POCSO Act (penetrative sexual assault).
The SIT on Friday had whisked away an 18-year-old man named Saroj Sethy of Jadupur and his mother and sister.
Though Saroj’s mother and sister were released after their lie detection test and subsequent interrogation, Saroj is still in the police custody. It is suspected that the police might produce Saroj in the court.
On December 16, Saroj had alleged that the SIT was forcing him to take the blame for murder case assuring that it would facilitate his early release from jail showing him as a juvenile in the court.
“The SIT chief Arun Bothra offered me Rs 5 lakh and assured me to facilitate my release from jail by establishing in the court that I’m a juvenile though I’m already an adult. If the police arrests me and anything happens to my family, the SIT chief will be held responsible,” Saroj had told the media.
Pari’s skeletal remains stacked in a bag were recovered from the backyard of her house on July 24. Her parents had accused one Babuli Nayak as the key suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Pari. They had blamed state agriculture minister Arun Kumar Sahoo for protecting Babuli.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress, two major opposition parties in the state, have been demanding sacking of the minister Arun Kumar Sahoo for his alleged complicity in the case.
The BJP on Saturday launched a five-day Padayatra from Bhubaneswar to Nayagarh seeking demanding a CBI probe into the case.
