CM condoles Salepur rape victim's death; assures stringent punishment

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today condoled the death of the 6-year-old Salepur rape victim in the Odisha Assembly today and announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for the kin of the deceased.

Patnaik also stated that the accused was arrested within 24 hours of the incident and he will be strongly punished.

"I feel the deep anguish of the members of this House and the people of Odisha for the terrible rape of a child that took place in Salepur on April 21. The accused was arrested within 24 hours. The child was given the best of medical attention by a team of doctors at the SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack. But unfortunately, she died last night. I will see that the most stringent action is taken against the accused,” the CM said in his statement.

On the other hand, Congress MLA Prafulla Majhi said the statement of the Chief Minister is only politically motivated.

"We had been demanding the CM's statement for the last two days. When the girl died, Patnaik gave his statement and announced compensation for the family members of the deceased just to take credit. This is only politically motivated, nothing else," he said.

On the other hand, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra said a mere condolence message by CM Naveen is not enough to control the rising incidents of rape of minor girls in Odisha.

It can console the affected families for a short while but will not root out the issue, he added.