BHUBANESWAR: The three-member central team of the BJP led by the party's national Mahila Morcha president Vanathi Srinivasan on Saturday urged the state government to hand over the Mamita Meher murder case to the CBI as the parents of the victim have no faith in the investigation by the state police.
Lambasting the BJD government for its apathy and insensitivity to the Meher family at a media conference here, Srinivasan said neither did Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik have a word of sympathy for the parents of Mamita nor has anyone from his government visited the family.
"Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra broke his silence by issuing a statement on Friday, three weeks after the brutal murder claiming that he is in no way involved in the case. If he is innocent, what prevented him from visiting Mamita's home to console the bereaved family," Srinivasan wondered.
Mishra is not only the Home Minister but also representing the constituency where the ghastly murder occurred. "What is his job as an elected representative towards his constituents," she asked.
Taking a jibe at the belated response of the minister by invoking the name of Godess Manikeshwari, the presiding deity of Manikeshwari temple at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district, to prove his innocence in a case which has shaken the conscience of the nation, the national Mahila Morcha chief said, "We in the BJP request the minister in the name of Lord Jagannath and Devi Manikeshwari to resign to pave the way for a fair probe into the murder case."
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Team member and MLA from West Bengal Assembly Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury said the lack of concern of the state government for the traumatised parents of Mamita deserves condemnation.
The state government has not reached out to the family yet even 22 days after the incident to console it and provide an assurance of a fair probe to bring the perpetrators of the crime to book.
While the Chief Minister's silence is baffling, his government is yet to provide medical counseling to Mamita's parents who are in a state of trauma and financial assistance from the Central Victim Compensation Fund scheme to the family. Claiming that many people of the areas the team visited are ready to provide vital information on the incident leading to the murder, the West Bengal lawmaker said several key witnesses are scared to open up.
"We urge the state government to strictly follow the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018 to ensure that the safety and security of witnesses are protected," Chaudhury said.
Expressing concern over the rising crimes against women in Odisha, team member Sunita Duggal, MP, said as the rate of conviction in Odisha is annoyingly low, the Mamita murder case will face the same fate.
If the state government is serious about giving justice to Mamita, it should hand over the case to the CBI, she added.