BHUBANESWAR: A Day after arresting the prime accused in Nayagarh minor girl’s rape and murder, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday said that it has sufficient evidence against him. SIT Chief Arun Bothra told mediapersons in Nayagarh that the prime accused was questioned several times in the last 10 days.
“We have collected enough evidence against him”, he said, adding that the district police had also q u e s t i o n e d h i m earlier. The SIT is also probing if the accused took the help of anyone for destroying evidence. “We have established the motive behind the crime and it was found out that the girl was sexually assaulted before being murdered. So far, the two stages of investigation - detection and arrest - have been completed and investigation will continue”, said Bothra.
The frock belonging to the five-year-old girl bore semen stains which is a pointer that the victim was subjected to sexual assault. Besides, the investigators found that a part of the victim’s clothing was missing. Earlier in the day, SIT officers visited the 17-year-old accused’s house in Jadupur vi l l a g e and q u e s t i o n e d h i s mother.
The accused was produced before Special Court-cum-ADJ POCSO Court in Nayagarh which allowed the SIT to take him on remand for three days from Tuesday. The SIT is likely to give out more information about the gruesome crime and the accused at the Odisha Police headquarters in Cuttack on Tuesday. The minor girl went missing while she was playing in front of her house on July 14. Skeletal remains of the victim packed in a bag were found in the backyard of her house on July 23.