Baleshwar: Following the directions of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das, a party fact-finding team visited Jaleswar in Baleshwar district Friday to investigate the rape and murder of a minor girl whose decomposed body was recovered Thursday.
According to an office order of the OPCC, the Congress fact-finding team will proceed to the victim girl’s native village and meet the deceased’s family as well as visit the spot of the incident. The delegation comprises Ashok Das, Deputy Chief Whip of the Congress Legislature Party in the Assembly and Balasore District In-charge, Debiprasanna Chand, Former MLA, Sanjeeb Giri, PCC General Secretary, etc.
It is worth noting that the victim, a Class X student, was acquainted with the accused, Chandrakant Jena alias Kanha, of Sultanpur village under Jaleswar police limits. Local sources claimed that October 16, Kahna took the victim on his motorcycle on the pretext of taking her to a nearby market.
After several hours, when the victim did not return home, her parents approached the police, alleging that Kahna had kidnapped her. However, the local police reportedly let him go after questioning him.
After obtaining reliable clues in the case, police brought Kanha back to the police station Thursday, where he reportedly confessed during interrogation to raping and murdering the girl. Based on information elicited during interrogation, police recovered the victim’s half-burnt body from the crime scene Thursday.
Following the recovery of the body, the victim’s relatives and villagers staged a protest, demanding action against the local police for their alleged negligence in handling the case.
Speaking to media persons Friday, Baleshwar SP Pratyush Diwaker said, “A deeply tragic incident has taken place. On October 16th, we received a missing person report concerning a minor girl. The suspect was promptly taken into custody. Following sustained interrogation, it was revealed that on the day of her disappearance, October 16th, the accused took her away and subjected her to non-consensual physical abuse. When she resisted and rejected his advances, the accused acted in sudden rage, strangling her to death.”
The Baleshwar SP further stated that the investigation has since been entrusted to a Deputy SP-rank officer. He also denied that anyone else was involved in this heinous crime.
“Our priority is to expedite the chargesheet and pursue a fast-track trial to ensure a swift conviction,” he added.
Taking the matter seriously, the Baleswar SP suspended Sub-Inspector Karan Marandi of Jaleswar police station for negligence and transferred the police station’s Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) with immediate effect.