Nayagarh girl's murder: youth accuses SIT chief of offering money for confessing to crime

In a twist to the ongoing probe into the kidnap and murder case of a 5-year-old girl in Odishas Nayagarh district, a resident of the victims village on Thursday alleged that the Special Investigation Team SIT chief offered him Rs 5 lakh to confess to the crime.

In a twist to the ongoing probe into the kidnap and murder case of a 5-year-old girl in Odisha's Nayagarh district, a resident of the victim's village on Thursday alleged that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) chief offered him Rs 5 lakh to confess to the crime. A senior official of the SIT of the Odisha Police's Crime Branch, however, rejected the charge saying it is an attempt to confuse people.

The five-year-old girl was kidnapped and murdered in July but the police are yet to arrest anyone in connection with the case. The state government recently ordered a high court-monitored SIT investigation after the issue rocked the assembly for several days. The allegation came a day after the SIT submitted a status report of the probe in the Orissa High Court.

The youth, who is a neighbour of the deceased girl, said that he came under the SIT's scanner as the victim visited his house a day before she went missing on July 14. ''The girl used to visit our house to eat berries from a tree in our backyard. Suspecting my involvement in her murder, the SIT has collected my saliva, blood samples and dresses. Later, the SIT chief called me and offered Rs 5 lakh for owning up the murder,'' he alleged.

The youth also claimed that SIT chief Arun Bothra has assured him to present him as a minor ''although I am 18 years old''. He also said that he is afraid of danger to his life.

While Bothra, a senior IPS officer, was not available for comment, one of the team members with condition of anonymity told PTI that the allegations were ''false and fabricated''. ''We have taken blood samples of about 60 people in the village and questioned around 100 residents during the investigation. None has made any such allegation except one.

This is an attempt to confuse people,'' the SIT official said. Meanwhile, the Orissa High Court in an order said, ''The SIT has submitted a status report with regard to progress in the investigation of the case in a sealed cover. Perusal of such reports does not reveal any substantial progress in the investigation to apprehend the real culprit.'' ''Even then, we defer the hearing of this case on 24.12.2020 directing the head of the SIT to submit further progress report,'' it said.

The opposition BJP, which has been demanding a CBI probe into the incident, alleged that the SIT is searching for a scapegoat. ''The SIT cannot give justice to the victim. It is in search of a sacrificial lamb to protect the real culprits involved in the kidnap and murder of the little girl,'' said BJP national general secretary Suresh Pujari.

He participated in the party's on-going dharna in front of Nayagarh district collectors office on Thursday. The saffron party has been demanding a CBI probe and dismissal of Agriculture Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo charging him with shielding the prime accused in the little girl's kidnap and murder case.