Nayagarh: The SIT probing the highly sensational Pari death case is taking the main accused in the case on a three-day remand from December 22.
The SIT had detained a college student from Saturday and arrested him Sunday. However, it did not reveal his name and produced him in the POCSO court Monday. While it had sought four days remand of the accused, POCSO court judge Udaybhanu Jena allowed a remand period of three days.
The accused was sent to Nayagarh sub-jail in judicial custody. On the other hand, his mother in her statement to journalists claimed her son is innocent and the SIT has found a soft target in her son and implicated him in the case.
Sources said, before taking the accused to the POCSO court Monday, the SIT had taken him to Nayagarh district headquarters hospital (DHH) for his medical test. Then he was taken to his village Jadupur and allowed to have a talk with his mother and sister after which he was produced in the POCSO court in the evening.
When the accused was taken to his village, SIT chief Arun Bothra visited the spot where the minor’s skeletal remains were recovered.
While replying to queries of journalists over the arrest, Bothra said they have arrested the accused only after collecting sufficient evidence that proves his involvement. He was arrested after as many as ten rounds of interrogation.
“We are on the second stage of the investigation. Our preliminary investigation revealed rape is the root cause of the murder. The minor was murdered after rape. Though the investigation period is a short one, we are complacent with the outcome. But our investigation is not over at all. Our investigation is going on to find out who abetted him to do the crime. We will file the charge sheet once our investigation is over”, Bothra said.
On the other hand, the student’s mother alleged, “The SIT had brought my son to our home Monday. While talking with me, my son said he had been tortured and forced to confess the crime which he has not done. If my son is the accused, then the SIT would have been to prove it first. My son is innocent. He has been made a scapegoat. Please save my son.”
Advocate Chandra Bijayee Mishra, who is fighting the case on behalf of the student said, “The student’s ossification test was conducted at Nayagarh DHH. The test confirmed him to be a major. But his date of birth is February 6, 2003. If the date of birth is taken into consideration, he is still a minor. So we will knock the doors of the High Court showing a minor as a major, he was produced in a court without even a demo”.
PNN