Nayagarh: In a shocking statement given by Pari’s parents, there is a new twist to the murder case of the five-year-old minor girl in Nayagarh district. The parents of the girl alleged that they were being pressurized by police to change their statements and the name of the accused in their complaint.
When the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Odisha government is investigating the case, the parents of the minor girl are alleging police is also involved in the crime.
The SIT team led by IPS officer Arun Bothra questioned Nayak at the Nayagarh Town police station for close to two hours from 11.00am to 1.30pm.
Ashok Sahu, father of deceased Pari, said he was offered money by police to change his statement. “Police offered me Rs 5 lakh and I was pressured into changing the name of the accused in the case. They had even said a statue of Pari would be installed in the village,” alleged Pari’s father.
“I am an auto-driver. We came to know about Babuli Nayak only through police. One Kalia Patra was sent as a messenger by Babuli to inform us that our child will soon be traced. We were tortured in the Kangaroo Court later. Police, many times, have gone to their house, they stay there and act according to their directions. Police have also said Babuli Nayak is a good man, and as long as he is there we will not face any problem. When we kept knocking on the doors of police more frequently, the cops asked us not to do so stating that the local minister is looking into the matter. We don’t want to politicise this, we want justice,” he added.
However, no response from the police is yet to be received.
Lead of the SIT team Arun Bothra has initiated an on-spot investigation at Jadupur village in Nayagarh, the native place of the deceased girl.
The team yesterday questioned prime accused Babuli Nayak at the Nayagarh Town police station for close to two hours from 11.00am to 1.30pm. The SIT members also held discussions with the district cops who were earlier investigating the case.
Police had earlier conducted a polygraph test on Pari’s parents, her uncle (father’s elder brother) and aunt (wife of father’s elder brother). They are still awaiting the results of the tests. The parents of the girl November 24 attempted self-immolation demanding justice in front of the Odisha Assembly while the Winter Session was underway.
They were saved in the nick of time by the police. At that time, the couple said that they went for the extreme as they were failing to get just over the alleged murder of their daughter. So they had decided to end their lives in front of the Assembly.
“We are yet to get justice for our Pari (victim). No one is listening to our complaints. Instead of delivering justice to us, we are being harassed. There is no reason for us to live,” Pari’s father had then said.
The five-year-old girl was found dead at Jadupur village under Sadar police limits of Nayagarh district under mysterious circumstances June 23. Her body was recovered from a spot only 50 metres away from the place where she went missing June 14.
The Nayagarh Sadar police had registered a case under Sections 363, 364, 302, and 201 of the IPC on the basis of a complaint lodged by Pari’s parents.
PNN