Bhubaneswar, Feb 27 (IANS) A chargesheet was filed against a man for the murder of a sexual assault victim in the state last November, an officer said Thursday.
The chargeheet, which is more than 700-pages-long, was filed in the court of the first class judicial magistrate at the district headquarters town of Rayagada, 390 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, investigating officer Alok Das told IANS.
The accused, Netrananda Dandasena, who was the area’s sub-inspector, was arrested few days after the incident and is now in judicial custody, Das said.
“It is not the final chargesheet,” the Crime Branch officer said.
The move comes days after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had asked the state government to complete within eight-weeks the probe into the case and submit a report.
Acting on two petitions filed by activists Manoj Jena and Akhand, the NHRC had also ordered the state government to pay an interim relief of Rs.5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
The victim Itishree Pradhan, 27, died Nov 1 at a hospital in Visakhapatnam, four days after she was set on fire at a residential government school Rayagada district.
The victim July 18 had informed police that Dandasena threatened her as she refused to withdraw a sexual assault complaint against him, Akhand said.
He had also approached the district collector of the area, police chief, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the state commission for women for justice.
On oct 27, Pradhan was watching television when Dandasena allegedly entered the school room, poured kerosene on her and set her on fire. She sustained 90 percent burn injuries and died later.