It is now official that no sitting judge of the Orissa High Court is monitoring the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing into the sensational Pari rape and murder case of Nayagarh district.
Contrary to the State Government’s claim, the High Court is now adjudicating a PIL that has sought for a CBI enquiry into the case alleging that the five-year-old girl was murdered by organ sharks, who are apparently protected by Nayagarh MLA and Minister Arun Sahoo.
The High Court recently clarified in response to an RTI query that it is yet to receive any letter from the Government requesting the Chief Justice to accord permission to monitor the SIT investigation by a sitting judge. The court’s reply came in response to the RTI application made by activist Hemant Panda.However, a letter dated November 28, 2020 from a Special Secretary of the Home department to the High Court Registry proposing to set up a court-monitored SIT is circulating on the social media. Similarly, the Advocate General had also informed the court during the hearing of the PIL that the Government has formed an SIT comprising senior police officers to investigate the case. But it was not clarified whether the SIT would be monitored by the court.
In its December 3, 2020 order over the PIL, the court although had acknowledged that the Government had formed an SIT, the court, nevertheless, in the same order had asked the Nayagarh SP to file the status report of the investigation. Subsequently, however, the SIT had been submitting status reports of the investigation to the court in sealed covers.
Under these confusing circumstances about the actual position of the SIT headed by senior IPS officer Arun Bothra, opposition parties BJP and Congress have grabbed the opportunity to come down heavily on the ruling BJD for hoodwinking the public in the name of another Constitutional institution like the High Court. “The developments are very shocking,” said PCC preident Niranjan Patnaik while BJP State general secretary Lekhasri Samantsinghar alleged that the Government has lied on the floor of the Assembly on the issue. Samantsinghar reiterated her party’s demand for a CBI probe into the Pari case.
