The investigating police officer made an application to the trial court at Pipili to turn the charges against key accused Prashant Pradhan from section 307 (attempt to murder) to 302 (murder) of IPC. Prashant is also facing charges under section 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (assault to outrage modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of IPC and several other charges under SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Since the post mortem report was awaited, the IO informed the trial court that supplementary charges would be filed soon. Prashant was arrested in January this year. The victim died on Thursday at the ICU of the SCB Medical College and Hospital here after remaining in coma since the incident on November 28 last year.
Meanwhile, the victim`s father Babuli Behera lodged a complaint at the Mancheswar police station in Bhubaneswar against the police for allegedly taking away the body to their village against the wishes of the family. While the family members wanted the body to be taken to their relatives place, the police did not allow them to do so, he alleged.