Bhubaneswar: Apprehending threats to life from Minister Arun Sahoo, Sarpanch of Lakshmiprasad Gram Panchayat in Nayagarh district on Friday knocked the door of Orissa High Court seeking protection for him and his family members.
The village head Soumyaranjan Pradhan in his petition before the HC has made six persons including State Agriculture and Higher Education minister Arun Sahoo, Home Department Secretary, Director General of Police (DGP), Nayagarh Collector, SP and local IIC parties in the petition, informed his counsel advocate SP Das.
Pradhan's move came a few hours after he opened up on the alleged threats he has been receiving ever since he started getting vocal in the sensational Pari murder case.
Pari, a five-year-old girl from Jadupur village in Nayagarh district, had gone missing on July 14 and her skeletal remains stuffed in a gunny bag were recovered from the backyard of her house nine days later.
The gruesome murder grabbed State-wide attention after the bereaved parents of Pari, auto rickshaw driver Ashok Sahu and his wife Soudamini attempted self-immolation in front of the State Assembly.
"I am receiving threat calls as I am being vocal in this incident. If anything happens to me or my family, Minister Arun Sahoo will be responsible," Sarpanch Soumya Pradhan said earlier today. His statement came two days after his purported audio conversation with Minister Arun Sahoo went viral on social media.
Amid the massive public outrage over the alleged lackadaisical investigation into the abduction and subsequent murder of ‘Pari’, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the sensational case.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)