Odisha minor's murder: DGP takes action against two cops for 'poor' investigation

More than four months after a five-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and murdered in Odishas Nayagarh district, the state police has suspended an inspector and transferred the local SDPO for poor investigation into the incident, sources said on Friday.

More than four months after a five-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and murdered in Odisha's Nayagarh district, the state police has suspended an inspector and transferred the local SDPO for ''poor'' investigation into the incident, sources said on Friday. DGP Abhay has suspended Nayagarh Sadar police station inspector in-charge Ritarani Sahoo and transferred Nayagarh sub-divisional police officer Niranjan Padhi on the charge of ''dereliction of duty and poor investigation'' into the case, they said.

The girl's parents had alleged that they were mentally tortured by the IIC when they had gone to the police station, and the SDPO did not take any action against the inspector, the sources said. They had named a loyalist of the state's Agriculture Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo, as the main accused.

No arrests have been made in the case since it came to light on November 24, after the girl's parents attempted self-immolation in front of the assembly in Bhubaneswar. Minister of State for Home D S Mishra claimed that the police has interrogated 34 people in connection with the case.

The state government had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe into the alleged kidnapping and murder of the girl. The BJD government also requested the Orissa High Court to appoint a sitting judge to monitor the probe.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had issued summons to the district magistrate and the superintendent of police of Nayagarh to appear personally before it in connection with the case. Both the SP and the DM interacted with the officials of the child rights body on December 9 through a video conference and apprised them of the ongoing probe into the case, the sources said.

A high-level delegation of the Congress had visited the minor's native village and demanded corporal punishment for the culprits involved in the crime. BJP general secretary D Purandeswari, who was recently appointed as the party's Odisha in-charge, went to the girl's village and met her parents on Thursday.

The saffron party demanded a CBI probe into the incident and dismissal of the agriculture minister, who allegedly gave protection to the main accused in the case. The ruling BJD, however, has denounced the opposition party's accusations, asserting that it was trying to politicise the matter.