Rourkela: The Sushmita Minz death case is gradually snowballing into a major controversy here. Members of the Sundargarh Adivasi Zilla Manch joined the chorus demanding a CBI probe into the death of Sushmita. Members of the Adivasi Zilla Manch, led by Letha Tirky, a prominent tribal leader, laid siege to the Rourkela ADM’s office Tuesday.
More than 300 persons took part in the protests. They said they had no faith in the post-mortem report which stated that Sushmita died due to drowning and called the death a ‘preplanned murder’. The members submitted a memorandum at the ADM office here addressed to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. “We demand a CBI probe in the matter of pre-planned murder of Sushmita Minz, assistant collector, ADM office Rourkela, under the supervision of an SC/HC judge,” the memorandum stated. Members of the Adivasi Manch gheraoed the ADM office here for more than three hours. Among other prominent tribal leaders present were Bandana Toppo and Roshan Beck.
In the memorandum, the Adivasi Manch also raised some questions. They asked why the police did not hand over Sushmita to her family when they knew she was ‘depressed’. They also asked how Sushmita managed to reach the pond when she was under police surveillance while staying at the Radhika Hotel here.
