Tribal woman’s charred dead body found near maternity home managed by NGO; BJP fact-finding team conducts a spot inquiry.
Dr.Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Rayagada, December 27: An investigation team from BJP conducted a spot inquiry of the unnatural death of a tribal woman from Kashipur block named Laxmi Majhi(28), daughter of Beldhar Majhi. Since 2019 Laxmi was working as an employee in the Maa Gruha(maternity home) managed by ALISHA, an NGO.
The maternity home is situated inside the campus of Community Health Centre(CHC), Chandrapur. It operates with Govt grants from the National Health Mission, the Department of Health &Family Welfare, Govt of Odisha in Public Private Partnership(PPP) mode. Maa Gruha is meant for housing pregnant women for a week or so before delivery at the medical with strict supervision of medical doctors, nurses and paramedics.
Women colleagues of Laxmi informed Beldhar last Thursday at 11 PM that she had not been seen in the office since 4 PM. When Beldhar telephoned her daughter Laxmi, her phone was showing switched off. Beldhar had to travel around 160 kms from his village Naktiguda to Chandrapur CHC on last Friday to find her daughter’s dead body partially burnt behind the dilapidated building of CHC & Maa Gruha.
According to Beldhar her daughter, a few days back, told his son that she was mentally and physically tortured by the Chief Functionary of ALISHA NGO Narasingha Mohapatra and wanted to leave the job. Smelling foul play in the orchestrated death of his daughter, Beldhar lodged an FIR in Chandrapur police station. “How can’t the women colleagues of Laxmi know the death of Laxmi, while she was burning just 40 meters away from their place of stay ? Narasingh Mohapatra manhandled my daughter and then murdered her and threw her body inside the campus of CHC, which is hardly 50 meters away from the main road. I am sure nobody can succumb to just 20% burns & it is a pre-planned murder”, fumed Beldhar while interacting with the local scribes. The body was taken to Miniguda Police Station for post-mortem after which it was handed over to the family members.
Being directed by the State BJP Women Wing President Dr Aiswarya Biswal, last Tuesday a state level fact finding team from BJP comprising State General Secretary Babita Patra, State Women Wing Coordinator Arunima Sahu, Working Committee Memebr K Aswini, Women Wing District President B Laxmi, National General Secretary for Schedule Tribes Kaliram Majhi, State Working Committee Member Siba Sankar Ullaka, OBC Wing State Vice-President Rama Chandra Behera, Block President Bapi Sahukar, Ex-Sarpanch Sunamani Pratinga, Block Youth President Surendra Dibaka & others went to the spot and investigated the matter. They interacted with the colleagues of Laxmi, medical staff, and Police officials at Chandrapur and Muniguda.
In the mean time hundreds of tribals under the leadership of Sadan Makhi and Bhagaban Majhi picketed in front of Tikiri Police Station and demanded a thorough judiciary inquiry or by crime branch. Govt should immediately take the culprits to task and adequately compensate the family members of Laxmi.
On last Wednesday the fact-finding team had a press meeting and briefed about their investigation. According to the team, the NGO chief is primarily responsible for the death of Laxmi. “There is severe security lapse on the part of NGO and CHC. Though Maa Gruha is sheltering vulnerable pregnant women, functional cc camera should have been in place as a part of security measures. There is a laxity in having a post-mortem report. So, the involvement of bigwigs can not be ruled out in the murder of Laxmi. The govt must act and give justice to the family of Laxmi at its earliest or else BJP and its ally tribal organizations will take to the streets”, asserted the team members.
