BALASORE: Police negligence in investigating the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl came under scrutiny after she was found sexually assaulted and murdered, prompting Balasore SP Pratyush Diwakar to transfer the Jaleswar inspector-in-charge (IIC) and suspend a sub-inspector for alleged dereliction of duty.
Diwakar on Friday transferred Jaleswar IIC Ashok Barik to the district police headquarters and suspended Nampo outpost sub-inspector Karan Marandi over their failure to act promptly on the missing person complaint.
The decomposed body of the minor was recovered on Thursday from beneath a tree at Dherapada, along the road connecting Shulashanda and Bartana villages in Jaleswar. Following protests by villagers and the victim’s family, who blocked the road demanding justice, the accused, Chandrakanta Jena (22) of Sultanpur village, was arrested on the day.
Sources said the girl went missing on October 16 after leaving for a dance class with the accused, who was known to her. When she did not return, her parents lodged a missing complaint at Nampo outpost the same day.
However, police allegedly failed to register an FIR promptly or take effective steps to trace the girl. The family had reportedly identified the person they suspected of being involved in her disappearance. Despite this, the accused was allegedly brought to the outpost and released on multiple occasions without further action, sources said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused allegedly took the girl to an isolated location instead of dropping her at the dance class, sexually assaulted her and killed her when she threatened to disclose the incident to her parents.
Diwakar said disciplinary action had been initiated against the two officers for negligence of duty. A special team has been formed to investigate the case, with a DSP-rank officer assigned to supervise the probe, he added.
The accused was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody. Scientific and forensic teams have collected evidence, and further investigation is underway.