Kendrapada: Police on Sunday arrested a male friend of the 20-year-old college girl, who died by alleged self-immolation on August 6.
Pramod Behera, a resident of Teroi village under Bilikana panchayat, was earlier detained in Chennai and brought to Kendrapada for questioning. The girl’s father had alleged that she took the extreme step following blackmail threats from her boyfriend. He also claimed that the youth had made her video viral just two days before her death.
Sources said that Behera was arrested after police found around 50 obscene videos on his mobile phone. He had also sent an explicit video of the victim to her father and two others on July 17 with the intention of circulating it.
He was earlier booked under Sections Sections 296 (obscene act), 75 (sexual harassment), 78 (stalking) and 108 (abetment of suicide) of the BNS and Sections 66-E and 67-A of the IT Act on the basis of a complaint lodged by the girl’s father.
The Plus III final-year student of political science had allegedly set herself afire at her house in Badapada village when no one was there at their house. Her parents found her in a charred state when they returned home at around 11 am. Police said the body was found on the staircase of the house, indicating that the victim probably made a desperate bid to go to the terrace after setting herself on fire but could not open the door.
On Saturday, Central Range IG S Praveen Kumar reviewed the investigation process. “We have a CCTV camera angle. We will seize it and recreate the crime scene after receiving the postmortem report,” the IG told the media.
While Kendrapada SP Siddharth Kataria interrogated the victim’s father and brother, a forensic medicine and toxicology (FMT) doctors’ team also visited their house under Pattamundai rural police limits.
Notably, Behera’s family members had earlier alleged that she was killed for honour, not due to self-immolation. They claimed that the girl’s father opposed their relationship. His sister also challenged her family to provide evidence that her brother posted any video or photo of her on social media, as alleged.
Role of police also had come under scanner in the case after the girl’s family alleged that their complaint went unheard six months ago. Following which, ASI of Pattamundai (Rural) police station Saliendra Mohan Palei was transferred to ensure transparent investigation into the matter.
