Parents Of 'Pihu' Warn Of Dharna Outside Naveen Niwas

Jajpur: The parents of two-year-old girl 'Pihu' who had gone missing since August 9 last year from her village at Madhusudanpur in the district, have warned of a dharna in front of the residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, if police don't take the case seriously.

The parents and relatives of the minor girl who sat on a dharna in front of the office of district Collector on Monday said that they ran from pillar to post to get back their daughter, but to no avail.

"Police don't work seriously to establish my daughter's whereabouts. We are going through severe mental agony, but the miscreant who has taken her away is sitting silent as the police didn't reach her. The Crime Branch should investigate the case and do the needful to trace my daughter," said Laxman Nayak, father the missing girl.

On August 9, 'Pihu' had gone missing while playing in front of her house at Madhusudanpur village under Binjharpur police limits in the district. Later, parents of the girl had lodged a complaint with the police after failing to trace her.

However, police have sat silent only after registering a case in this regard, they alleged.

The mother of the girl, Monalisa Nayak had also met Superintendent of Police (SP) and District Child Protection Officer alleging police laxity. She pleaded the top authorities to locate her daughter following which the Investigating Officer (IO) was replaced with a senior police officer to expedite the probe process. Notably, an Assistant Sub-inspector was initially entrusted with the task of investigation. Later, the inspector in-charge of Binjharpur police station took over the case.

Even as five months have elapsed since her missing, police allegedly failed to make any headway in the investigation.