Reopening the unsolved Bebina gangrape case in Pipili that rocked Odisha in 2011, the Congress party raised questions on the State government’s intent on Thursday.
Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Nishikant Mishra said, “It has been almost 10 years since the 19-year-old Bebina was gangraped and murdered. But her family is yet to get justice.”
Mishra alleged, “Justice PK Mohanty Commission, set up to investigate the case had submitted the report to the State home department in 2015. But all the accused were released after the Crime Branch failed to collect sufficient proof against them.”
“However, the State government should have presented the Commission’s report in the Assembly. But the government neither made the report public nor did they apprehend the culprit,” he alleged.
Bebina, a native of Arjungoda village in Pipili under Puri District was found in a semi-nude and unconscious state near her house, on November 29 2011. While the family members had alleged gangrape and an attempt on her life, the police registered an FIR on January 9, 2012 after the State Human Rights Commission intervened.
The incident soon snowballed into a major controversy, and also accounted for a Cabinet Minister losing his job, an IPS officer being shunted, and a police inspector being dismissed from service.
The girl died on 21st June 2012, after battling for life in the hospital for more than five months.