Bhubaneswar/Berhampur, May 6 (PTI) BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday said that the entire state of Odisha was shocked to see a video of a three-year-old girl crying beside the body of her pregnant mother in Odisha’s Ganjam district and sought Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s intervention in the brutal killing.
The Ganjam police arrested two teenage youths on charges of hacking the 21-year-old pregnant woman to death on Tuesday when she, along with her daughter, was sitting on dharna in front of her in-law’s house at Kharida village under Hinjili police station area, which falls under the assembly segment of Patnaik.
“We have arrested two persons, including the 17-year-old brother-in-law of the deceased woman, for allegedly hacking her to death. The other one was a 16-year-old boy, who accompanied him to the crime,” said Srinibash Sethi, inspector-in-charge, Hinjili police station. The axe, which was used to kill the woman, was seized, he said Meanwhile, police said the body of the woman was kept in the mortuary after conducting a post-mortem, as the victim’s relatives were not willing to take the corpse for cremation.
The three-year-old girl was housed in a child care home with the direction of the child welfare committee (CWC), sources said.
Police said a case has been registered in this connection and a notice has been issued to the deceased woman’s in-laws. Earlier, before launching a dharna in front of her in-laws’ house, the deceased had lodged an FIR on April 19 at Hinjili police station.
Though she was suggested to stay at the one-stop centre at Berhampur for the time being, she came to her in-law’s house on Monday and sat on dharana, police said.
Expressing deep grief and anguish, Patnaik in a letter to Majhi said, “The visual of a three-year-old child crying beside her mother’s body has shocked the conscience of Odisha.” Patnaik, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, said news reports and video footage that went viral on social media showed that the 21-year-old pregnant woman, Puja Swain, was hacked to death during a sit-in outside her in-laws’ house. She was demanding rights for her daughter. Her husband had earlier abandoned her and the daughter.
The victim was reportedly staging a dharna in front of her partner’s house when she was attacked, Patnaik mentioned in the letter.
“As the chief minister of the state holding the Home portfolio, I urge you to direct the police to arrest all the accused immediately. Also provide immediate state care, compensation and rehabilitation for the three-year-old daughter who witnessed the crime and inquire why preventive action was not taken by police when the victim was sitting in dharna seeking justice,” the BJD chief said.
Patnaik also said, “I request your personal intervention to ensure that the perpetrators are punished as per law and such incidents are not repeated.” Local BJD leader Ranjita Sahu, at a press conference at Kodala in Ganjam district, said that the party would launch an agitation if the culprits are not punished and the girl child is not properly rehabilitated. “The state should take care of the child,” Sahu said.
Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said the government was aware of the heinous crime that took place in Ganjam district and was taking all possible steps to provide justice to the victim.
“There was no need for the LoP to write a letter to the CM, as the government has been proactive in this matter,” the minister told reporters here.
According to police, the victim, Puja, had fallen in love with Chintu (a daily labourer) through a social media platform, and they eloped to Puri, where they married at a Shiv Temple and stayed there. They had a daughter. She wanted to go to her in-laws’ house in Kharida.
Both Chintu and Puja, along with their daughter, arrived at Berhampur railway station on April 17 from Puri. However, Chintu fled from the railway station by abandoning his pregnant wife and little daughter, said SDPO, Hinjili, Santosh Jena. PTI AAM COR BDC AAM RG
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