SIT submits interim report on Kunduli rape case to Orissa HC

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Orissa High Court to probe the Kunduli rape case of a Dalit minor girl in 2017 submitted an interim report in a sealed cover to the High Court on Monday.

The SIT's plea to grant another week to submit the final report was also accepted by the High Court and a division bench headed by Chief Justice K S Jhaveri adjourned the matter for hearing on December 23.

Turning down the victim's plea for a CBI probe into the case, the High Court had in November constituted the SIT comprising three senior police officers of the state.

The SIT formation came after the crime branch of the state police had shut the case.

A Judicial Commission instituted by the Odisha government in the case had suggested further investigation as the panel could not conclusively confirm whether the girl was raped and why she committed suicide four months after the incident.

The school-going girl was allegedly raped by four suspected security personnel on October 10, 2017 in the Kunduli jungle near Musaguda in Koraput district.

Alleging torture and harassment by police, the rape survivor had committed suicide on January 22, 2018.