Bhubaneswar: Taking action on the alleged murder of minor girl Pari, state government Thursday suspended Nayagarh Sadar IIC Rinarani Sahoo and transferred sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Niranjan Padhi to Kandhamal.
Sahoo and Padhi were supervising the Pari case, which created hue and cry in the state following a self-immolation bid by her parents in front of Assembly here. The cops were under scanner for their roles in handling the murder case. Pari’s mother had also alleged that the local IIC was ‘torturing’ her.
Meanwhile, Opposition BJP and Congress continued their attacks on the government over the issue and raised questions on the probe by a special investigation team (SIT). Newly-appointed state BJP in-charge Daggubati Purandeswari Thursday visited Jadupur village in Nayagarh and met the parents of the deceased girl.
She claimed that SIT doesn’t have judicial power to investigate the sensitive case as it is headed by Arun
Bothra, who is CMD of Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC). “As he (Bortha) doesn’t have judicial power, how he will investigate?” she asked. The BJP leader demanded CBI probe into the case to give justice to girl and her parents.
Alleging that local MLA and Minister Arun Sahoo is protecting the accused, Purandeswari demanded immediate resignation from Sahoo. “If he (Sahoo) is not resigning, then Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should remove him from the Cabinet,” she said.
PNN
