Sandhyarani Samantray, a 22-year-old woman who was a vital witness for the Commissionerate Police in connection with a sensational sex racket case in which senior police and Crime Branch officials, mines owners and other influential persons were involved, died late on Friday night under suspicious circumstances.
Sources said that on Thursday four persons reached Sandhyarani’s elder sister’s house at Chandrsekharpur and picked up Sandhyarani, who was staying with her sister, by a Bolero. They took them to her native Khataphiringi village in Bhandarikuda gram panchayat under the Brahmagir police station in Puri.
After reaching home, the condition of Sandhyarani who was ill for last few days worsened, prompting her parents to take her to nearby Khajuria Temple for traditionally-believed treatment. As her condition deteriorated further, she was rushed to the sub-health centre at Brahmagiri where doctors diagnosed her with asthma and referred her to the Puri District Headquarters Hospital (DHH).
The DHH authorities then referred Sandhyarani to the SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack on Friday morning. Her parents were accompanying with her in the ambulance. However, whether she died at the hospital or on her way to it is yet to be confirmed while her last rites were conducted at the Puri Swargadwar late on Friday night in suspicious conditions.
“What forces us to believe that she died in suspicious conditions is that why without informing the Mahila police station, which was investigating the sex racket case she had registered in September 13, her last rites were performed at the Swargdwar in midnight,” said State Progressive Women’s Forum chief Mamata Samantray, who had encouraged the victim to file an FIR. Notably, Sandhyarani had lodged the complaint at the Mahila police station here alleging that she was forced into flesh trade by her husband and various Government and influential persons including State Crime Branch officials were the customers.
“Why was she not kept at a short stay homeIJ Why the police administration did not take any proactive measures to arrest the persons named as per her statement and FIR,” Samantray demanded to know. She also demanded a CBI inquiry into the episode.