CM directs suicide be included in term of reference of

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today issued a direction to include the "suicide" of the minor girl from Koraput district in the term and reference of the judicial commission already probing into alleged gang rape of the victim.
While asking the Home department to expand the term of reference of the judicial panel, Patnaik said: "The circumstances leading to alleged suicide by the minor girl be added to the existing term of reference for the judicial probe."
Earlier, the Home department on December 26, 2017, had issued a notice on the formation of a judicial panel headed by the district judge of Koraput district.

The one man commission was mandated to probe into the alleged gang rape of the 14-year-old allegedly by four persons in uniform. The alleged incident took place while she was returning home from Kunduli market on October 10, 2017.
Patnaik had ordered judicial probe into the matter after Odisha Police opined that the girl was not raped at all even as the victim continued to claim that she was raped by four persons in uniform.
Meanwhile, the CID of Odisha Police has sent the exhibits of the Koraput rape case to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Kolkata, for re-examination.

As a dispute had surfaced questioning the findings of the report of the State Forensic Science Laboratory here, Director General of Police R P Sharma had on January 27 directed the CID to get the exhibits re-examined from the CFSL for a second opinion to clear the air and put an end to all speculation, the CID said in a statement.

The CID is investigating the alleged gang rape of a school girl at Kunduli in Koraput and the DGP's direction to it followed media reports that the scientific examination report on it was changed while making the final report.

"The investigating officer of the CID yesterday sent the available exhibits of the Kunduli alleged rape case to CFSL, Kolkata, for detailed examination," Prashant Kumar Jena, superintendent of police, CID, said in a statement.
Before sending the exhibits to the CFSL, the CID investigating officer (IO) had to take the court's permission for re-examination.
The girl had on January 22 committed suicide by hanging herself allegedly for not getting justice. A case was registered in Pottangi police station in Koraput district under the POCSO Act and IPC sections 376(D) (gang rape) and 377 (unnatural offences) which was later handed over to the CID.

The CID had seized the exhibits in the case and sent them to the State Forensic Science Laboratory here for scientific examination and opinion. The exhibits were examined at SFSL by experts of different divisions after which the final report was submitted by its director to the court of Jeypore sub divisional judicial magistrate on October 23, 2017.