Central forensic team in Rayagada for murder investigation
BERHAMPUR: Amid the outrage over police failure to crack the mysterious death case of Laxmi Majhi, a two-member central forensic team from New Delhi on Monday reached Rayagada for investigation.
at Chandrapur community health centre
The forensic team visited the premises of Chandrapur community health centre (CHC) from where the half-burnt body of 28-year-old Laxmi was recovered on December 21. The team members visited ‘Maa Gruha’ on the CHC campus and inspected the spot where her body was found. They quizzed a security guard of the CHC. The team also interacted with several staff of the health centre.
Last week, a team of the Crime Branch (CB) led by DSP Narendra Behera had conducted an extensive probe and questioned Laxmi’s colleagues and neighbours. The initial findings of the CB pointed towards the suspicion that Laxmi was murdered elsewhere before her body was set on fire in the ‘Maa Gruha’ to destroy crucial evidence.
On January 5, the Zilla Adivasi Mahasangh had observed Rayagada bandh demanding a CBI probe into Laxmi’s death. The local BJP had also staged protest over the demand. Laxmi, a physically challenged woman, was working as a warden in ‘Maa Gruha’ on Chandrapur CHC premises for the last five years after being recruited by a social organisation named ‘Alisha’. After the recovery of her charred body in an abandoned room of the CHC, her family members lodged an FIR with police alleging that she was raped and set ablaze by miscreants.