Odishatv Bureau
Cuttack: Expressing surprise over Odisha government`s inability to file a response explaining the cause of delay in cremation of Pipili rape victim, Justice P K Mohanty Commission probing into the sensational matter has asked it to file an affidavit positively by the next date of hearing scheduled on September 7.

It was alleged that the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Commissionerate police, acting at the behest of their political bosses, had hijacked the body of the victim that was on its way to Puri Swargadwara for cremation after her death here at SCB Medical College and Hospital on June 21.

It was also alleged that the body was left unattended for over 20 hours on the outskirts of the victim`s village in Pipili and the decomposed body was finally cremated nearly 60 hours after her death.

Although responding to an earlier notice of the Judicial Commission, police commissioner Sunil Kumar Ray had filed his replies in a sealed cover, the state government is yet to file its counter on the contentious issue.

However, the commission yesterday received at least nine more affidavits from as many witnesses, who gave their statements in writing, taking the total number of affidavits received by the commission till date to 59.

Among the persons who submitted their affidavits include Pipili SDPO Rajendra Rout, investigating officer (IO) R C Sethy, a crime branch DSP and the three doctors of Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar, who had first examined the 19-year-old victim to ascertain whether she was raped or not.

After perusing affidavits of doctors, the commission yesterday asked the state government to furnish a guideline if any on how doctors shall act when they come across medico-legal cases.

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