BHUBANESWAR: A day after arresting the prime accused of Nayagarh minor girl's rape and murder, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday said that it has sufficient evidence against him.
"The prime accused was questioned a couple of times in the last 10 days and we have sufficient evidence against him. The district police had also questioned him earlier," SIT Chief Arun Bothra told the media persons in Nayagarh.
SIT is also probing whether the accused took the help of anyone else to destroy the evidence.
"The motive behind the crime was first established by the team and it was found out that the minor girl was sexually assaulted before being murdered. So far, the case's two steps - detection and arrest - have been completed while the investigation will continue," said Bothra.
Sources said the frock belonging to the five-year-old victim bore semen stain which points to the minor girl being subjected to sexual assault. The SIT probe also found that a part of the clothing of the victim was missing.
Earlier in the day, SIT officers visited the 17-year-old accused's house in Jadupur village and questioned his mother.
The youth's house is hardly 100 metre away from the victim's house in the village.
As part of its investigation, SIT had collected blood samples of about 60 to 70 residents of Jadupur village including the accused. Besides, a polygraph test of the accused was conducted at the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) in the Capital.
The accused will be produced before Special Court-cum-ADJ POCSO Court in Nayagarh on the day and a detailed press briefing will likely be held at Odisha Police Headquarters in Cuttack in the evening.
The minor girl went missing while she was playing in front of her house on July 14. The skeletal remains of the victim packed in a bag were later traced to the backyard of her house on July 23.