No need for CBI probe into Kunduli case: Govt

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Cuttack: The Orissa High Court Thursday directed the state government to submit its reply before May 10 to a petition filed by former MP Aira Kharavela Swain pertaining to the alleged gangrape and subsequent suicide of Kunduli victim.
A division bench of Chief Justice Vineet Saran and Justice B R Sarangi gave the directive while hearing separate petitions filed by the victim’s brother, the former MP and advocate Goutam Siddhiqi.
Submitting its reply in connection with the petition filed by the victim’s brother, the state government informed the HC that there is no need for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged gang rape and subsequent suicide of the victim as a special investigation team (SIT) of the Crime Branch has already been investigating the case. “At a time when the report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Kolkata has discarded the rape theory, the question of involvement of any security personnel in the alleged incident is baseless,” the state government’s reply said.
This apart, at a time when the state government-ordered judicial probe is on into the incident, plea for a CBI probe is redundant, the state government said and requested the HC to reject the plea seeking a CBI probe.
While posting the next hearing for May 15, the bench fixed July 3 for hearing four petitions out of the seven which have been filed with the HC in connection with the incident. The HC hearing began in line with the Supreme Court directive, sources said.
In his petition, Swain had informed the HC that the minor girl, who was reportedly gang raped October 10, 2017, had committed suicide January 22 this year after losing her confidence in the investigation of the state police. Hence, a CBI probe into the incident would help deliver justice to the victim. The state police had been handling such a sensitive issue casually. And the state government has also failed to deliver justice to the victim’s family, Swain’s petition said.
Notably, expressing doubt over the CB’s SIT probe, the mother and brother of the Kunduli victim had moved HC seeking a directive for a CBI probe and appropriate compensation.