Odisha: SIT begins probe in Nayagarh murder case, visits girl’s village

BHUBANESWAR: The special investigation team (SIT), which was constituted by the state government on November 28 to probe the alleged murder of five-year-old Amrita Sneha Sahu alias Pari in Nayagarh district in July, began its investigation on Tuesday.
The SIT, led by inspector general of police (IG) Arun Bothra, along with four other officials visited the deceased’s village in Jadupur and interacted with her parents, Ashok Kumar Sahu and Soudamini.The officials also visited the spot from where Pari’s skeletal remains were found.
The Orissa high court-monitored SIT probe assumes significance in the wake of the growing public outrage and political slugfest over the murder of the five-year-old girl. It continues to remain shrouded in mystery as the police in Nayagarh have failed to ascertain the motive and circumstances that led to her death. The identities of the accused have also not been established yet.
“We collected the case details from the Nayagarh Sadar police. We will examine the crime scene and go through the forensic and scientific evidence collected by the local police earlier. Suspects will be interrogated,” an SIT member said.
Pari’s parents and local villagers drew the attention of the SIT members to the alleged police inaction.

Their self-immolation bid sparked a statewide furore with opposition BJP demanding Sahoo’s resignation and a CBI probe into the murder.
A delegation of BJP leaders met governor Ganeshi Lal here on Tuesday and urged his intervention for Sahoo’s expulsion from the cabinet along with the CBI probe. Nayagarh Sadar police had on July 14 registered a case of abduction on the basis of a complaint lodged by Ashok, who had alleged that his minor daughter had gone missing.