PARADIP: Family members of the 23-year-old woman who was allegedly thrown off a building in Jagatsinghpur district after being raped twice have challenged the police investigation and demanded a Crime Branch inquiry.
The victim’s family on Saturday claimed that Tirtol police failed to act promptly after a missing complaint was lodged. They also raised concerns over police claims and pointed at anomalies in the postmortem report.
The victim was allegedly abducted and raped by her male friend Somanath Ojha under Abhayachandpur police limits. Later, Suva Kumar Singh (24), a native of Jharkhand’s Dhanbad, took her to a building in Tarenigada where she was sexually assaulted again before being thrown off the rooftop.
The family said it had requested that the postmortem be conducted at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack but it was carried out at Kujang Hospital. According to the postmortem report, they said, there were no internal injuries or fractures to the body or head which is inconsistent with the claims that the victim had fallen from a four-storey building. The report mentioned a strong impact injury on the left side of the head, which caused bleeding from the ear and led to her death.
Family members asked what object could have caused such an injury and expressed doubts over the theory of fall, arguing that a fall from such a height would ordinarily result in multiple fractures or severe head trauma.
The victim’s brother stated that he received a call from an unknown person informing him that his sister had been seen at Rahama Bazaar. After searching for her unsuccessfully, he lodged a missing report at Tirtol police station. He alleged that within hours, she was abducted by Singh. He further alleged that Ojha raped her and later left her at Rahama Bazaar bus stand. Police have not clarified the exact location where the alleged rape took place.
He claimed that if police had acted swiftly on his complaint, his sister’s life could have been saved. He accused the police of negligence and alleged that the assault at the Tarenigada building may not have involved Singh alone. Since six other individuals were reportedly staying in the same building, he wondered how no one heard any disturbance, especially when the victim’s inner garments were reportedly recovered from the accused’s bedroom.
A senior police officer said the inquiry into the possible involvement of other persons is underway and that the accused may be taken on remand for further questioning.
He added that after receiving the postmortem report from Kujang Hospital, Paradip police would consult forensic medical experts to further examine the findings, particularly in light of the absence of internal or major head injuries.