The ongoing probe into the kidnap and murder of Nayagarh district’s five-year-old girl Pari took a shocking turn on Thursday when a serious allegation was levelled against IPS officer Arun Bothra, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Crime Branch.
A college student, Saroj Sethy, of Pari’s Jadupur village alleged that Bothra had offered him Rs 5 lakh to confess to killing Pari. The startling revelation came a day after the SIT submitted an affidavit in the Orissa High Court stating that Pari had been sexually assaulted before being killed.The preliminary probe report indicated that the prime accused in the case was a resident of Jadupur. A day after the report, the college boy Saroj dared to speak before media that he was falsely being implicated in the case. Saroj was under the SIT scanner as Pari had visited his house to eat berries a day before her abduction on July 14. “The SIT members collected my blood and swab samples as well as my clothes from our house.
As I am an adult, Bothra Sir offered me Rs 5 lakh to take entire blame of the murder on me. He assured me of reducing my age of 18 to 17 to claim that I am a juvenile to relax punishment quantum,” Saroj said.
However, he said he is innocent and alleged that there is a “conspiracy” by the SIT against him. “I am not guilty. I am not involved in any crime,” he said, adding, “Bothra will be responsible if anything happens to me or my family.” Bothra was yet to respond to Saroj’s allegations. Meanwhile, a day after the preliminary probe report filed by the SIT in the High Court, it was decided that the semen stains found on Pari’s clothes during investigation would be sent for DNA test.
Notably, Pari’s parents have accused Minister and Nayagarh MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo of shielding his close aide Babuli Nayak, the prime suspect in the case.