BHUBANESWAR : In a twist to the Mamita Meher murder case, senior BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra on Sunday claimed that Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra tried to iron out differences between the lady teacher and her employer Gobinda Sahu at Raipur.
Mohapatra told mediapersons that the Minister brought the two to a negotiating table at his residence at Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh, to resolve some contentious issues prior to her killing. “The Minister made an attempt at his Raipur residence to reach a compromise between the two. This has been informed by the police to the appropriate authority of the State government. The matter lingered on for nearly two months. Finally she was murdered,” Mohapatra alleged.
He further claimed that the police have submitted a report to the “third floor”, the Chief Minister’s office, after examining some call records but did not elaborate whose calls were verified. He demanded that the call details of the Minister be examined to ascertain his role in the entire set of events leading to the murder of the lady teacher. “The case will become crystal clear if call records of Mamita, Gobinda and the Minister are verified,” he added.
The former minister said not only Mishra but several other influential people frequently visited the educational institutions run by Gobinda. “Some non-Odia officers are also involved in the case as they have suppressed the reports submitted by the police,” Mohapatra alleged. Mishra or the State government is yet to respond to the serious allegations of the senior BJP leader.
Meanwhile, as the BJP Mahila Morcha continued its protest by attempting to barge into the residence of Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra here on Sunday demanding his resignation, the party’s MP from Bargarh Suresh Pujari posed some questions to the State government on the manner in which the investigation is being conducted.
In a series of tweets, the parliamentarian said investigation of a crime is conducted basing on a theory, every theory is dissected to identify the motive of the crime and every motive is further dissected to zero in on the intention of the crime.
“Will the Home Ministry of Odisha dare to brief the people of State about the exact motive and intention of the abduction and killing of school teacher Mamita Meher of Balangir who was about to disclose the ‘Gumura’ of the behind the screen happenings of the school?” Pujari asked.
State BJP president Samir Mohanty asked Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to clarify to the people whether the investigation of the case will be handed over to CBI. He said the BJP will continue its agitation till the Chief Minister speaks up on the issue and sacks Mishra from his Council of Ministers.