CBI To Probe Child Rape & Murder In Odisha? Supreme Court Hears Mother’s Plea

New Delhi: Will the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be directed to probe the kidnap, rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Nayagarh district last year?

This question was doing the rounds on Friday after the Supreme Court began hearing a petition by the girl’s mother, Saudamini Sahoo, for a CBI probe into her daughter’s death that had created headlines across Odisha.

An SC bench of Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice Sanjiv Khanna is hearing the petition.

The writ petition was filed by Saudamini under Article 32 for violation of her fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and therefore sought direction for an independent investigation by the CBI into the rape and murder of her 5-year-old daughter.

Earlier on July 15, the bench directed the petitioner’s counsel, Mahesh Jethmalani, to place the two orders passed by the Odisha High Court in the case before it for perusal.

Notably, Jethmalani told the apex court that the issue was whether the case was one of organ harvesting or of rape and murder, as has been claimed by the prosecution in Odisha.

“The facts of this case completely contradict the second possibility,” he said.