Kunduli Rape & Suicide: SIT Submits Final Probe Report To Orissa HC

Cuttack: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday submitted the final probe report on the much-talked-about rape and suicide of a tribal girl in Koraput district to the Orissa High Court.

The court directed the SIT to submit the final probe report in the trial court if the petitioners have any other grievances.

Briefing the media later, the counsel of the victim and human rights lawyer Shrejee Bhavsar said he prayed the court for a copy of the final probe report. But the court told me to get the report from the trial court. It also said that there is an option to challenge the report.

The High Court, while receiving the interim probe report from the SIT on December 16, had directed it to submit the final report by December 23.

On November 18, Chief Justice KS Jhaveri had ordered that the High Court will monitor the probe into the rape and subsequent suicide of the minor girl of Musaguda village in Koraput district.

Dismissing the pleas for a CBI probe by the victim’s mother and several others, the Chief Justice had said that the HC will monitor the investigation by the SIT. The team was asked to submit its report to the court after a thorough investigation.

The court had directed the state government to form an SIT comprising senior police officers of the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) to take up the investigation.

Acting on the directive, the state government had formed a three-member SIT team comprising DIG of the South-Western Range, Shefeen Ahamed K, DIG, Southern Range, Satyabrata Bhoi and DIG, Northern Range, Himanshu Lal.

The team had begun its probe by collecting the details from the victim’s mother, aunt and brother in Koraput on December 2.

Earlier on August 3, the High Court had directed the state government to ensure that the investigation into the Kunduli rape and suicide case was completed within four weeks.

Expressing displeasure over the tardy pace of investigation by the State Crime Branch police, the court had proposed a court-monitored SIT probe.