The Additional District Judge (ADJ) Court here on Monday acquitted two brothers accused in the sensational 2011 Pipili gangrape and murder case.
The court acquitted the accused siblings Sukant Pradhan and Prashant Pradhan due to lack of evidence in the case. Both the brothers were accused in the gangrape of a 19-year-old dalit girl of Pipili in Puri district.
Notably, the girl was found in a semi-nude and unconscious state near her house at Arjungoda village of the Pipili area on November 29, 2011.
A case was registered by the family members alleging gangrape and a murder attempt on the girl. The victim was under treatment at the SCB Medical College Hospital at Cuttack in a critical condition after she was allegedly subjected to rape and then attempts of murder through strangulation. She died on June 21, 2012 after battling for life for more than five months.
The gangrape and death of the girl triggered a furore in the State. A Minister was dropped from the State Cabinet and the then Pipili police station IIC was dismissed from service amid the controversy.
A commission led by Justice PK Mohanty probing the alleged gangrape and murder had submitted a 400-page final report to the Home Department on March 30, 2016.
However, the probe report is yet to be made public.