Pari’s Kin To Get Rs 10 Lakh Compensation: OSCPCR Chief

Bhubaneswar: The family members of five-year-old girl 'Pari', whose brutal murder has triggered a statewide outrage, will get a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, informed Sandhyabati Pradhan, chairperson of Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR).

The State government and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will soon make announcement about the compensation, said Pradhan.

Reiterating her stand in the case, Pradhan said that the murder could be a result of human sacrifice as the practice is prevalent in the area where the victim belonged to.

However, when questioned about her views that contradicted Odisha Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra’s opinion that had put the suspected cause of Pari’s death as organ smuggling, Pradhan dodged the question by saying that those were her personal views based on prima facie evidence.

Speaking on the NCRB report and BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra’s allegations on child trafficking in the State, Pradhan said, “The Commission will conduct a three-month-long rapid assessment of the missing children in Odisha. We will try to find out the reason for police not being able to trace out the kids.”

“The local district administration should pressurize police into finding the missing children. I request the District Collectors to dedicate one day in a month for the missing children,” she said.

Speaking about higher rate of rescue of missing children in Kerala, Pradhan said, “The missing children rescue rate in Kerala in 94%. We will have to brainstorm the possible causes of lagging too far behind Kerala in this regard.”

The statement of OSCPCR came at a time when the opposition is baying for blood over the murder of five-year-old Nayagarh girl Pari. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has intensified the stir by holding protests across the State.

(Edited By Ramakanta Biswas)