Arrest Maharathy, says NCSC chief

BHUBANESWAR: After demanding the arrest of the tainted policeman and the doctor in the Pipili rape incident, P L Punia, Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), went a step further on Monday. He wanted former minister and Pipili MLA Pradeep Maharathy to be arrested as well.“Maharathy is party to the crime for giving shelter to one of the main accused in the gang-rape case. He should be arrested and criminally prosecuted,” Punia told mediapersons here. Maharathy has been accused of sheltering Prasant Pradhan. The NCSC chairman said the fact that the prime accused was caught from Maharathy’s farm house established the latter’s complicity in the crime.“Criminal cases should also be registered against the dismissed police inspector and the doctors who neglected the girl under pressure from the former minister and they should be brought under the purview of investigation,” Punia said. Action should also be initiated against the erring officials under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said. “Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik assured me that strong action will be taken against the culprits,” Punia said. Earlier, Punia visited the girl at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack where she is undergoing treatment. The girl, who slipped into comma after the alleged incident, is still in a critical condition.The 19-year-old girl, allegedly gangraped on November 28, was found lying in an unconscious state in a paddy field near her village. But a case was registered only on January 9 after wide media coverage on the non-action by the police. The girl’s family alleged that the rapists were the same people who had assaulted her in 2008 and against whom she had put up a determined fight in court in a molestation case.The incident had created a political storm, prompting Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy to resign on January 19 on moral grounds after the Opposition and the girl’s family alleged that he protected her attackers.While the incident is being investigated by the Crime Branch, a one-man judicial commission, headed by a retired judge of the Orissa High Court, is also probing the case.