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Cuttack, Feb 24: The Orissa Human Rights Commission (OHRC) Tuesday directed the Chief Secretary and commissioner-cum-secretary of ST & SC department to file a compliance report within six weeks on a complaint filed by advocate PK Das Cuttack in connection with the suicide of a nursing student, Sunita Raita, a resident of Diptinagar in R Udayagiri in Gajapati district August 13, 2014 due to alleged negligence of the authorities to sanction her stipend she has been entitled to for long. The state rights panel also recommended monetary compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased.
According to the petition, Raita had taken the extreme step due to the callousness of government officials including Gajapati collector and ITDA officer. The matter was assigned to Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division) for an inquiry.
The RDC submitted his report vide letter No 495 dated 8.9.2014. A criminal case bearing PS case No 49/2014 in R Udayagiri police station had been instituted against the then collector Basudev Bahinipati, former PA of ITDA Kalyana Kumar Ratha and accountant Janardhan Rao (ITDA) under section 306/34 of IPC along with section 3(1)(x)/3(2)(V) SC&ST(PA) Act.
The petitioner appeared before the commission February 13 with a prayer that the victim’s parents being poor tribals deserve compensation for the extreme step taken by their daughter due to systemic failure.
