Missing Pihu's mother picked up by police on way to meet PM Modi in Sambalpur

The mother of missing toddler Pihu was allegedly detained by Dhenkanal police while she was on her way to Sambalpur to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive in Odisha on a one-day tour today and visit the western Odisha town of Sambalpur.

As per reports, Pihu’s mother Monalisa Nayak left her home at Jajpur’s Binjharpur for Sambalpur on Friday night by a car. But she was reportedly apprehended near Govindpur just before Dhenkanal town by the police and detained at the Govindpur outpost.

Sources said she has been detained at Govindpur since the last six hours.

Speaking to reporters, Nayak said, “I was going to meet PM Modi at Sambalpur and request him to order a CBI inquiry into the missing case of my daughter. The State government never listened to my pleas. It has been four years and I am yet to get justice. In fact, I do not have any more faith left for the Odisha Police.”

“I have written to the Sambalpur SP, Collector and the PMO that I would come to Sambalpur to meet the Prime Minister. But the IIC of Dhenkanal Sadar Police Station stopped me near Govindpur and has locked me up here since 4 am. They took my car keys and even our mobile phones,” she alleged.

“The IIC did not reveal why I have been detained. He told me that the SP is coming to meet me, but I think they have detained me so that I cannot meet the Prime Minister and expose the law and order situation in Odisha. I suspect they will keep me here long enough so that I cannot meet the PM,” she added.

It is pertinent to note that Pihu had gone missing on August 8, 2020 and a case was also filed in this connection. Though she staged protests several times and even approached the Orissa Human Rights Commission, it was of no use.

Though the state government and police had assured to find out the complainant’s daughter, both parties have failed to keep their words. She had written to the President of India through the District Collector seeking permission for euthanasia. Earlier, she had urged the government to initiate a CBI investigation into the matter. However, the government is yet to take it seriously.