COUPLE ATTEMPTS SELF-IMMOLATION FRONT OF OLA (!)

Bureau,Odishabarta

BHUBANESWAR: A man and his wife from Nayagarh district attempted self-immolation outside the Odisha Assembly here on Tuesday, claiming that they have been denied justice in the alleged abduction and murder case of their five-year-old daughter.

Security personnel deployed near the Assembly building immediately intervened and prevented the couple identified as Ashok Sahu and Soudamini from lighting the matchstick even though they had poured kerosene on their bodies. The police, after seizing the kerosene bottle and a matchbox from their possession, took them into custody.

Ashok alleged that his five-year-old daughter was kidnapped while she was playing near her home on July 10. Her body was later found in the backyard with eyes gouged out and kidneys removed. “Though we lodged a complaint at Nayagarh Sadar Police station, no action was taken. We found her body dumped in our backyard two weeks later. We had even named the accused at the grievance cell of the district Superintendent of Police and the Collector, but no step was taken to punish him,” Ashok stated.

Contending that the main accused was a key aide of a minister from Nayagarh district, Ashok said the police “bowed down to political pressure.” He also alleged that the accused and his associates attacked them on October 26, as they refused to withdraw the complaint in connection with the case. “Although the police arrested 10 people for attacking us, it spared the main accused,” he claimed.

Soudamini alleged Agriculture Minister Arun Sahoo is shielding the accused in the incident. “Our daughter was brutally murdered. Babuli Nayak along with his accomplices killed her. Even as months have passed, the accused are moving scot-free. Minister Arun Sahoo is sheltering the criminals,” said the mother. She said the main accused was a key aide of the Minister from Nayagarh district.

Incidentally, the self-immolation bid was made by the couple outside the Assembly, when its members were holding discussions on the prevailing law and order situation in the State.

On October 1, a youth had allegedly held his mother hostage at knifepoint near the Assembly and accused some ruling party leaders of indulging in corruption. The youth, a resident of Dasapalla in Nayagarh district, threatened to kill his mother as security personnel attempted to rescue the woman. He claimed that a huge amount of money was stolen from the Jagannath temple in Puri and two Ministers of the State were involved in corruption.

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