Jajpur: Family members of Pihu, the girl missing from Binjharpur since August 2020, have decided to abstain from voting during elections to Jajpur Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha seats in Odisha on June 1.
Pihu’s mother, Monalisa Nayak, has written to the district administration and Election Commission about their decision to boycott the elections. They have also put a banner, stating the same, outside their house at Madhusudanpur under Binjharpur police limits of Jajpur districts.
“It’s been four years now, police have been unable to find her. In 2019, we had voted but the people’s representatives did not stand by us in our troubles. They have not helped us in finding our daughter. I have sent emails to the tehsildar, district collector and Election Commissioner in this regard. The police instead of helping us are harassing us. When the Prime Minister was visiting, I was going to meet him to demand a CBI probe. But I was taken to the police station instead and detained there. If I as a woman of Odisha cannot get justice why should I vote? I and my family members have decided to abstain from voting,” she added.
Pihu went missing on August 9, 2020, from her uncle’s house. She was two years old then. Her mother subsequently lodged a complaint at Binjharpur police station on August 14. Monalisa had also moved the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which in 2023 had directed the Odisha DGP and Jajpur SP to submit the complete probe report in the case.
The girl, however, is yet to be traced.
