UMERKOTE: The body of a Class V girl student was found in a bush near a mobile tower at Kantagaon village in Tentulikhunti block of Nabarangpur late on Tuesday night.
While the victim’s family alleged she was killed after being raped, additional SP Bata Krishan Mishra, SDPO Krushna Chandra Bhatra, other police officers along with a team of dog squad reached the spot and started a probe. Sources said police have detained three persons and are interrogating them as part of the investigation. The victim’s family said she told her father that she was going to the toilet and left her house. But as she did not return home till late in the evening, they started searching for her and eventually stumbled upon her body in the bush. It is suspected the girl was murdered as her hands were tied.
The incident led to tension in the area as locals staged a protest by placing the body on the road to the village demanding immediate arrest of the accused. Former MP Pradeep Majhi along with ex-legislators Sadashiv Pradhani and Bhujabal Majhi joined the agitators and warned the protest will be intensified is the culprits are not caught within 24 hours. The agitators called off the road blockade after DIG Charan Singh Meena assured that the culprits will be arrested within 15 days. The girl’s body was then sent for postmortem. Sources said the victim’s family was given Rs 20,000 from the Red Cross fund.
Bhatra said a case has been registered at Tentulikhunta police station basing on a complaint filed by the victim’s father. Meanwhile, Nabarangpur MLA Gouri Shankar Majhi met the family of the victim and asked police to ensure the culprits are arrested soon. Sources said two platoons of police have been deployed in the village where shops, schools and other business establishments remained closed on the day.