The CBI, which is yet to make a breakthrough in its probe into the sensational killing of Itishree Pradhan, a teacher of the Tikiri Upper Primary School in Rayagada district in November 2013, on Thursday interrogated a doctor of the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH). Sources said CBI inspector RD Sharma asked Dr Utkal Rath about the video clippings featuring the dying statements of Itishree while she was undergoing treatment in the DHH before being shifted to the Care Hospital in Visakhapatnam, where she succumbed to her burn injuries a few days later.
The CBI inspector asked Dr Rath how he could record the statements of the victim when she was not in a position to talk as she had sustained 80 per cent burn injuries. Sources said the CBI has also found from the video footage that though the victim had sustained 80 per cent burn injuries, both her palms had remained intact. On the basis of the observation, the CBI has begun a fresh probe to ascertain whether the victim was murdered or she committed suicide.
Reliable sources said the CBI has planned to take four to five persons to Delhi for lie detection test as they have frequently changed their statements during interrogation on the dying statements of Itishree. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has asked the CBI to file a counter on April 28 on the progress in its investigation in the last two months. The court’s directive has come after hearing a PIl filed by senior lawyer Suresh Tripathy. The petitioner, while expressing doubt on the CBI investigation, had appealed to the apex court to seek a reply from the Central investigating agency at the earliest.