Bhubaneswar: Four days after three miscreants set a 15-year-old girl on fire in Puri district, Odisha Police was clueless about the attackers till Wednesday evening.
The police contacted AIIMS, Delhi, where the girl is being treated, to seek its permission to talk to her, sources said.
The girl, who sustained 75 per cent burns July 19, was airlifted from AIIMS Bhubaneswar and admitted to the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery of AIIMS Delhi July 20. Her condition continues to be critical.
Though the case on record is being probed by the Balanga police station, a 5-member Crime Branch team has launched an investigation into the matter.
The police engaged experts of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), cyber crime cell, forensic science and dog squad.
Top police officers, including DGP Y B Khurania, have visited the place of occurrence and spoke to the villagers, but no clue regarding the miscreants’ identity or how they fled was found.
A senior officer said the place is in a village, and no CCTV footage was available to help the police.
“We have been making all efforts to get a clue to nab the miscreants, but to no avail. The police scanned the mobile numbers of different people in the area. This effort also failed,” the officer said.
Therefore, it is planned to again meet the victim in Delhi.
The Odisha Police has sought permission from the hospital authorities to facilitate a meeting with the victim, as her statement is very crucial to reach the culprits, the officer said.
Meanwhile, Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister and local Nimapara MLA Pravati Parida visited the victim at AIIMS during the day.
“The girl’s health condition remains stable. One procedure of skin drafting has been made, and a second one will be undertaken. From her talks, I could know that her pain has reduced. Let us pray for her speedy recovery. I hope that the girl will be fully recovered in 50/60 days,” she said.
Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal and some other party MPs also visited the AIIMS and enquired about the health condition of the girl.
The BJD minority cell held a prayer session at the party’s state headquarters for the speedy recovery of the girl.
The girl, while returning from her friend’s house July 19 at about 8.30 AM, three unknown miscreants allegedly forcibly lifted her to a secluded place on the bank of the river Bhargavi, poured an inflammable substance on her and set her on fire. The girl, however, survived as she ran away towards a house nearby and later shifted to the hospital.
An attempt to murder case has been registered based on the complaint made by her mother.
PTI
