Odisha DGP Appears Before HC In Bhubaneswar Minor Girl Gangrape Case; Next Hearing On Dec 16

Cuttack: Odisha DGP Abhay submitted the status report on the investigation into the alleged gangrape of a minor girl in the Odisha capital before the Orissa High Court through video conferencing on Wednesday.

The next hearing in the matter will be held on December 16.

Expressing displeasure over the progress made in the case, the court on November 9 had directed the DGP to file a specific affidavit as to what steps have been taken for effective and meaningful investigation.

The court had issued the summon on a PIL filed by Bharatiya Vikash Parishad on September 16 with a CBI probe demand into the incident stating that people of Odisha had lost faith in the police due to their failure in similar cases in Kunduli, Pipili, Puri, Rayagada, and Jagasinghpur.

It had also sought Rs 30 lakh compensation for the survivor.

The Union Home Secretary and Odisha Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of Police (DGP), Twin City Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, and the state secretary of the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) were made respondents in the PIL.

The minor girl was allegedly gang-raped by several employees of a private regional news channel for around 15 days in April-May.

Mahila Police in Bhubaneswar initially investigated the case before it was handed over to the Crime Branch on October 6.

In its affidavit submitted to the HC, the Crime Branch had said that the gap of four months between the incident (April) and filing of the complaint (August) made it difficult for the investigating agency to get biological evidence in the case.

The Crime Branch SP along with Additional SP, three women inspectors, and one inspector from the Cyber Cell are probing the matter.

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