Cuttack: Close on the heels of the state government announcing a judicial probe into the sensational alleged Kunduli gang rape case in Koraput, questions are being raised from several quarters regarding its rationale and the outcome of the probe.
Sources said, at a time when the local police and the Crime Branch failed in arriving at a logical conclusion in the case, the government’s move to order a judicial probe is nothing but eyewash.
The government is on the defensive in view of the public and opposition parties’ wrath over the issue. The people of the state have bitter experience in so far as a judicial probe is concerned. They have seen the results of such inquiries into the Niladri Bije ritual delay at Puri Srimandir in 2016 and the chit fund scam.
The Justice MM Das Commission probing the chit fund scam has already submitted three reports to the state government, but no action has been taken against the fly-by-night companies. Similar is the experience with Justice Bimal Prasad Das Commission probing the indiscipline in Niladri Bije rituals. It has already submitted two reports to the state government. However, the state government is yet to take any action against the unruly servitors responsible for the delay in the Niladri Bije rituals.
Lawyers of the Millennium City are sceptical about the outcome of the judicial probe ordered into the alleged Kunduli gang rape.
According to Manoranjan Mohanty, a senior lawyer and member of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), “There was absolutely no need for a judicial probe into the Kunduli gang rape case since the government is aware of the outcome of judicial inquiries. There should have been a CBI probe into the incident as the Central agency has reportedly got a breakthrough in the murder of Pradyumna Thakur, a student of Ryan International School at Gurugram in Haryana. By ordering a judicial probe into the gang rape case the government is trying to play to the gallery.”
Echoing similar views, Khirod Rout, another lawyer, said, “The government’s role in this case has come under public scrutiny while the opposition parties have targeted the government over the issue. The government, which is under a dilemma over the issue, found no option than to order a judicial probe. This is clearly eyewash. The government had earlier ordered judicial probe into many other incidents. While some of the reports were submitted to the government, in some other cases the investigations have remained incomplete.”
Former Orissa High Court Bar Association secretary Bijay Kumar Ragad said, “The government washes its hands off the matter when pressure mounts on it in such kinds of incidents. Judicial probe is a time consuming process. People do not get justice in judicial investigations as government doesn’t initiate action against the guilty. A CBI probe should have been ordered.”
According to High Court advocate Satyabrata Pradhan, the government had ordered judicial inquiry into several other cases too but questions remained about the outcome.
“For example, the judicial inquiry commission has submitted its report on the Pipli gang rape case. However, neither any action was initiated against the guilty nor the recommendations were followed by the government.”
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