CUTTACK: Orissa High Court on Monday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the investigation conducted by State CID-Crime Branch into the alleged Kunduli gang rape case, and submit a report. This comes more than three months after the State Government tabled the report of Judicial Commission in the Assembly.
The division bench of Chief Justice KS Jhaveri and Justice KR Mohapatra formed the SIT constituting three DIGs - Koraput, Berhampur and Sambalpur after the State Government informed the court that the CID-Crime had closed inquiry into the case and submitted report in the trial court.
The HC was hearing two PILs filed by former Lok Sabha MP Kharavela Swain and mother of the victim girl seeking CBI probe into the alleged gang rape case. The bench refused to order a CBI probe and fixed December 16 as next date of hearing on the two PILs.
Expressing dissatisfaction over delay in completion of probe by the CID-Crime Branch, the High Court had on August 2 allowed four weeks time indicating that a court-monitored SIT probe would be more effective. The next day, State Government tabled the report of the Judicial Commission in the Assembly.
The commission submitted its 141-page report on September 20, 2018. The one-man commission of Koraput District and Sessions Judge BK Mishra in his report could not confirm if the girl was actually raped as alleged and the reason behind her committing suicide before completion of investigation.
The Judicial Commission’s report said the incident was a mystery and suggested further investigation. The 14-year-old girl from Musaguda village in Koraput district was allegedly raped by four ‘men in uniform’ while she was returning home from Kunduli market on October 10, 2017. The girl committed suicide on January 22, 2018. The State Government had ordered a judicial probe into the incident on December 26, 2017.
Timeline