Postmortem of Puri girl done; Opp slams police for claiming none else involved in setting her afire

Bhubaneswar | A day after the 15-year-old girl of Odisha’s Puri district succumbed to her burn injuries at AIIMS Delhi, opposition parties on Sunday attacked the police for its statement that “no other person” was involved in setting the teenager on fire.

Police sources here said that the post-mortem examination was conducted on the girl at AIIMS Delhi, and the body is likely to reach the state around 8 pm. Preparations are going on in the village for the burial.

Her father on Sunday said his daughter was "under "mental pressure and took her life", without elaborating.

It was initially alleged that the girl was kidnapped and set ablaze on the banks of Bhargavi River in Puri district on July 19. With 70 per cent burns, the teenager was airlifted to AIIMS-Delhi the next day, where she underwent at least two surgeries and skin grafting. The teenager died there on Saturday.

Hours after her death, the police said in a post on X: "... the police have conducted the investigation with utmost sincerity. The investigation has reached its final stage. According to the investigation conducted so far, it is clear that no other person is involved. Therefore, we request everyone not to make any insensitive comments regarding this matter during this tragic moment."

Opposition Congress and BJD, however, lambasted the state government and "rejected" the police statement that no other person was involved in setting the girl on fire.

Opposition chief whip in the Odisha Assembly and BJD leader Pramila Mallik alleged that attempts were made to shield the culprits.

“The police got slippers and a plastic bottle carrying an inflammable substance from the spot of crime, but they failed to nab the culprits. This is not acceptable," Mallik told reporters.

The police have recorded the statement of the victim more than three times, and this indicated that the girl was not giving the statement that the government wanted, the BJD leader claimed.

State Mahila Congress president Meenakshi Bahinipati asked, “If the victim was capable of giving statements and recovering well, how did she die suddenly? The victim initially said that three people abducted her, but how did the narrative change?”

Bahinipati said if the culprits were not arrested within seven days, the Congress will gherao the DG’s office.

Responding to the remarks of the opposition, BJP spokesperson Manoj Mohapatra alleged that the BJD and Congress leaders are engaged in “vulture politics.”

“They are waiting for the death of someone so that they can play politics over it as vultures wait for the death of someone,” Mohapatra said.

BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty countered, saying: “The BJP has stooped to a new low in politics. Were they doing the vulture politics while being in the opposition?”

In a video, the girl's father said the government has done everything possible for his daughter.

“My daughter is no more. My daughter took her life as she was mentally under pressure. Thus, I request everyone not to politicise the matter and pray for her soul," he said.

The father did not clarify why the teenager was “mentally under pressure”.

Meanwhile, police personnel are standing guard near the deceased girl's house in Bayabar village under the Balanaga police station limit, as most of the family members have probably left for Delhi.

Some people were seen digging a pit near the village, and it is expected that the girl's body would be laid to rest there as part of the traditional burial in the community.

"We are keeping a watch on the village and the movement of the people. Everything is peaceful. People are not coming out of their houses," a policeman supervising the burial digging told a local news channel.

Dukhishyam Senapati, the villager who first doused fire on the body of the girl, also kept his doors shut and did not speak to anyone, including media persons.

He was the man who helped the girl when she cried for help on the morning of July 19.