National Commission for Women member Charuwalli Khanna on Thursday sought a CBI inquiry into the mysterious death of Ayush doctor Madhabilata Pradhan in October last year.
She expressed grave concern over the manner the investigation is being conducted in this sensational case wherein the alleged involvement of a powerful ruling BJD MlA came to the fore. She said there are a lot of situations and, above all, the mysterious disappearance of the dead body which needs to be probed by the CBI or another effective agency.
Accompanied by State Commission for Women Member Manasi Pradhan and assisted by NCW official Usha Kumari, Charuwalli Khanna interacted with the parents of the deceased medico in Brahmagiri before discussing the issue with the officers of the Government Railway Police (GRP), Kumbharpada police Station and Crime Branch presently investigating into the case at Puri.
The committee observed in Brahmagiri that the family of the deceased doctor is in extreme distress due to external pressure on them to withdraw the case they have been fighting in the High Court. In October last, the brother of the deceased had filed a missing report with the Kumbharpada police that Madhabilata, who had gone to attend her duty at the Kanas CHC, did not return.
While the police did not act, at the noon the same day the GRP recovered mutilated body of a girl from the railway tracks near the Malatipatpur railway station and sent it to the District Headquarters Hospital for post-mortem and informed all the police stations including the Kumbharpada police station which did not read the information.
After the post-mortem next day, the body was kept in the morgue for three days before being disposed of. The GRP investigating officer said that since none came to claim the body and it remained unidentified, the body was buried in the Masanichandi graveyard.
The police swung into action after a couple of weeks as her bank reported that somebody deposited her ATM card which was found from roadside. The Kumbharpada police found that the information of the GRP matched with the description of the missing doctor.
The GRP claimed to have buried the body in the Masanichandi graveyard. But the magistrate and police despite meticulous examination of the graveyard could not find the body and there were no burial marks or signs of digging in the area. The missing of the body evoked large scale agitation among the public. After a lot of public hue and cry, the case was entrusted to the Crime Branch. Since then, no visible progress in the case has been reported by the Crime Branch even after elapse of so many months.