This story is from November 25, 2020

Nayagarh couple attempts self-immolation outside assembly

Nayagarh couple attempts self-immolation outside assembly
Bhubaneswar: A couple from Nayagarh district attempted self-immolation outside the assembly here on Tuesday in protest against ‘police inaction’ over the alleged abduction and murder of their 5-year-old daughter in July.
Although police posted outside the assembly prevented Ashok Sahoo and his wife Soudamini from setting themselves ablaze, the opposition BJP and Congress created a furore inside the assembly after the couple accused cabinet minister Arun Kumar Sahoo of shielding the accused.

“I had lodged a complaint with Nayagarh Sadar police on July 14 about the disappearance of my daughter, who was playing alone outside our home. After some days, we were shattered to find her skeletal remains inside a bag near our village. The DNA test of the skeleton confirmed that it was my daughter’s. But police have so far not arrested anyone due to political pressure. Some of the accused are close associates of minister Arun Sahoo, who is our local (Nayagarh) MLA,” Ashok told the media.
As the assembly members were busy discussing law and order in the state against the backdrop of the alleged custodial killings in Puri and Sundargarh, the startling allegation against the minister came as a shot in the arm for the opposition, which demanded a reply from chief minister Naveen Patnaik on the Nayagarh issue.
“It is shocking that a minister is trying to protect the killers of a child, whose parents have been denied justice. The chief minister should issue a statement in the House and sack the minister,” BJP MLA and leader of opposition Pradipta Naik said.
“A couple tried to kill themselves outside the Odisha assembly today, insisting that a very prominent BJD leader is sheltering the rapist and murderer of their 5-year-old daughter,” BJP’s national vice-president Baijayant Panda tweeted.

Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati also sought action against the minister. “The government’s shoddy justice delivery system has forced the bereaved parents to attempt suicide in front of the assembly. It is yet another instance of police inaction. Unless action is taken against police and the minister, we will continue to protest,” Bahinipati said.
Neither Sahoo nor BJD reacted to the charges. However, speaker Surjya Narayan Patro has asked minister of state (MOS) for home Dibya Shankar Mishra to issue a statement in the assembly on Wednesday.
The opposition members raised four issues — the threat to the security of the assembly, the couple’s self-immolation bid outside the assembly’s high-security zone, the alleged delay in police investigation into the couple’s complaint in Nayagarh and the name of the minister raised by the couple. “I have directed the MoS, home, to give a detailed statement by Wednesday,” Patro said.
Nayagarh Police denied any political pressure on them. “Our investigation has been continuing in a fair manner. We are working on some clues. The motive of the murder and the identity of the accused person or persons is being ascertained,” Nayagarh superintendent of police, Pratyush Diwakar, told TOI.
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About the Author
Debabrata Mohapatra

Debabrata Mohapatra is an Assistant Editor at The Times of India, Bhubaneswar. He had been writing for TOI from Puri since 2006 before joining the Bhubaneswar bureau in August 2010. He covers crime, law & order and Congress.

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