The apex court issues notices to Odisha govt, CBI to put forth their views
By Nalini Sahu
Bhubaneswar, Jan. 13: In a development in the case involving the brutal murder of a five-year-old girl from Jadupur village in Odisha’s Nayagarh district, the mother of the victim on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court seeking Central Bureau of Investigation CBI investigation.
Admitting the petition, the apex Court sent notices to Odisha government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to put forth their views.
Saudamini Sahoo, the mother of the victim filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India in exercise of her right to Constitutional remedies.
Soudamini has been opposing the investigation into the case launched by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Odisha Crime Branch apprehending a shoddy probe on account of the alleged involvement of influential politicians belonging to ruling party in the crime.
She had earlier raised doubts over the veracity of the probe, especially when the sleuths overlooked her complaint in bringing the “main accused” under the ambit of the investigation. She had identified Babuli Nayak, a close associate of Minister Arun Sahoo as the “main accused” behind the crime who, she said, was not properly investigated by the SIT.
She had repeatedly punched holes in the findings of the SIT and alleged that the probe team had falsely implicated a juvenile in the case while the real culprits were moving scot-free.
The little girl, daughter of Ashok Sahoo and Soudamini Sahoo, was allegedly kidnapped on July 14 while playing in front of her house in the afternoon. Her skeletal remains were recovered from the backyard of her house on July 23. The parents of the girl alleged the girl was kidnapped and killed by one Babuli Nayak, a close aide of minister Arun Nayak.
Ashok said Babuli ran an organ trade racket in the area.
In a related development, the SIT met with a setback after the juvenile accused on Wednesday refused to undergo a brain mapping test.
Earlier on Wednesday, the SIT produced him before the Juvenile Justice Board seeking permission to subject him to neuroscience techniques for ferreting out additional evidence from him.
Prior to this, the special POCSO court had rejected the SIT petition seeking a narco analysis test of the accused while terming him a minor.
The court had ruled that since it was proved that the accused was a minor, no narco analysis test could be conducted on him.
The accused’ counsel had produced the birth certificate and Matriculation certificate to prove that the accused had not attained the age of 18 years at the time of the crime. The court had accepted the argument.
The SIT had conducted a bone ossification test on the accused to prove that he was a major. However, the court turned down the scientific evidence.
It is worth mentioning that on December 4, 2020, an exclusive report carried by odishatv.in with the headline ‘Odisha’s Missing Children: 13 Kidnapped Every Day, Crime Rate Highest In Country’had shed light on the enormity of kidnapping and missing children in Odisha. The report based on NCRB Crime In India Report -2019 had highlighted the poor tracing rate of missing children in Odisha, and at the same time it highlighted how the State has a crime rate (with respect to kidnapping)which was highest in the country.
