BHUBANESWAR: The alleged gang-rape of a Dalit girl of Pipili has provided the ammo against the Naveen Patnaik Government with the Opposition demanding the Chief Minister’s resignation. Rallies and processions marked Thursday as the clamour over the alleged role of a minister in sheltering the accused grew louder. The Pipili Police, which has registered a case, named Purna Chandra Swain, Premananda Nayak, Prasant Pradhan and Abua Pradhan as accused while no arrest has been made as yet. With the Opposition demanding Naveen’s scalp, the ruling party is on the defensive. The fact that police had not taken any action puts the Government in the dock. Only after the Orissa Human Rights Commission (OHRC) stepped in that the FIR was registered. Subsequently, the Orissa High Court intervened. Meanwhile, the Pipili IIC reported that the FIR had already been registered, while the Puri SP submitted the status report before the OHRC stating that Crime Branch has taken over the investigation. However, there is no respite from the Opposition onslaught which charged the BJD of conspiring to hush up the matter. The Congress demanded an independent inquiry into the incident and sought resignation of the Chief Minister for keeping mum. “It is an attempt by the BJD to suppress the sensitive matter and the ruling party is being supported by the State Police,” senior Congress leader Narasingh Mishra said and wondered it was surprising how no action has been taken against the minister in whose farmhouse the accused were harboured. The minister, in the eye of the storm, told a private TV channel that he had nothing to do with the case. “I am a servant of my constituency, not a watchman. I cannot keep track of everything happening there,” he asserted and said he wanted the truth to come out. He also acknowledged that the mother of the victim was a ward member and belonged to the BJD. The minister also said he was saddened by the allegations. “I wanted to visit the victim but before that another member of the party met her which fuelled the speculations that I had sent him which is untrue,” he said. With chaos reigning supreme, the different versions of the victim’s mother and brother added to the confusion. While the brother had alleged the minister’s role in the case, the mother said there was a love angle to the case. BHADRAK GANG-RAPE: OHRC SEEKS REPORT FROM SP: The OHRC has asked Bhadrak SP to submit a report on the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 19-year-old student in Banta area. The rights panel took suo motu cognizance and said the report must be filed in three weeks.
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