RAYAGADA: Nargish K Asthari, an Iran-born British charity worker who was found guilty by a court in a case of negligence leading to death of a tribal child in Rayagada district, was acquitted by the Additional District and Sessions Judge Court here on Saturday.
The Court said the charge against Asthari was fabricated and she may claim compensation from the State Government for the harassment that she went through for over two years. A case against her was registered in 2014.
Asthari (28), who ran an orphanage through her NGO Prishan Foundation in Mukundapur village of Rayagada district, was found guilty by lower SDJM court in the case. She faced the charges after disappearance of a six-year-old child, Asim Jilakara, in 2014, who was feared drowned in river Nagavalli during a picnic organised by Prishan Foundation. While six children were washed away during bath in the river, five of them were rescued and Asim was not found. The incident had occurred on November 3, 2014.
Asim’s father Peter, who and his wife were working in the NGO as warden in-charge and cook respectively, came to know from an eyewitness that Asthari and secretary of the NGO, Raju Gupta, were in an inebriated condition when the incident occurred and filed petition to the Collector, the SP and the Odisha Human Rights Commission in this regard. Subsequently, a case was filed and the trial court convicted Asthari to one year imprisonment and `3,00,000 fine. NGO secretary Gupta was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Asthari had moved the ADJ Court against the verdict and wrote a petition to the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had also sought the report on the issue of Asthari from the Rayagada administration, but later expressed inability to help the charity worker due to the SDJM court order.
Apparently, Asim was not an inmate of the orphanage run by Prishan Foundation and he had accompanied his parents to the picnic site. The court observed that it was the responsibility of the boy’s parents to look after his safety at the picnic site and Asthari cannot be accused of negligence.
Additional public prosecutor Maheswar Mohapatra said they would appeal before a higher court against the ADJ court verdict after examining the order and consulting the higher authorities.