Bhubaneswar: There has been no substantial progress in the on-going investigation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to nab the ‘real culprit’ involved in the alleged rape and brutal murder of the five-year-old girl from Nayagarh district, observed the Orissa High Court on Thursday.
The Court’s observation came following the submission of a status report by the SIT-led by senior IPS officer Arun Bothra in connection with the investigation of the case so far.
The SIT in its affidavit submitted before the Orissa High Court on Wednesday claimed that the minor girl had been raped before she was murdered. The SIT also claimed that the prime accused has been identified and he belongs to Jadupur in Nayagarh district, the village where the girl lived along with her parents.
“The SIT has submitted a status report with regard to the progress in the investigation of the case in a sealed cover. Perusal of such report does not reveal any substantial progress in the investigation to apprehend the real culprit,” the High Court observed.
The High Court has directed the SIT to take effective and expeditious steps to identify and arrest the accused. The next hearing of the case has been posted for December 24.
Earlier the State government had constituted the SIT following massive protests and uproar by the Opposition parties during the proceedings in Odisha Assembly. The Opposition parties are also demanding expulsion of Minister Arun Sahoo for his alleged complicity in the case after the parents of the victim had accused of him of shielding the prime suspect Babuli Nayak.
The victim’s parents had levelled such allegations while attempting to commit suicide in front of Odisha Assembly last month.