Opposition rejects charge sheet on ‘Odisha gang rape’

The opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha Monday rejected the police charge sheet on the alleged gang rape of a woman in the state and demanded a CBI probe to unearth the truth.

“We condemn the way the crime branch submitted the charge sheet, exonerating the culprits of the allegation of rape,” Ashok Sahu, spokesperson of the state BJP told IANS.

“As the victim is not able to speak and she being the only witness to the crime, the investigation, by ruling out the allegation of rape, stands prejudiced in favour of the perpetrators of the crime,” Sahu said.

“Had the police not been prejudiced, they could have said that an additional charge sheet could be filed only after the victim recovers from her comatose state. But by totally denying that there has been rape, the police is siding with the criminals in this incident,” he said.

The Congress party also rubbished the “no-rape” claim and said the police has been deliberately trying to suppress the matter since the beginning.

“How could the police know that there was no rape when they started a probe one and a half months after the incident,” asked state congress president Niranjan Patnaik.

Earlier, the brother of the assault victim also dismissed the police report for ruling out rape on his sister and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The much publicized assault had created a political storm, prompting state agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy to resign Jan 19 on moral grounds after the opposition and the victim’s family alleged that he had protected the attackers.

The incident is being investigated by the crime branch of the state police and a one-man judicial commission headed by a retired judge of the Orissa High Court.