Alka Verma –
Published on August 27, 2021, at 13:15 IST
A Local Court ordered the Police to start a fresh investigation against Odisha Law Minister Pratap Kumar Jena who was involved in the Murder case of two BJP leaders.
The Court came into action when a Protest Petition was filed by Ramakant Baral, son of one of the deceased leaders and Former Block Chairman, Kulamani Baral.
Ramakant accused the Police of dropping the name of the Law Minister from the Charge-sheet, and also indicted the Investigating officer for tampering the evidence and also recording false statements of witnesses to shield the Minister.
The petition alleged that the Investigation Officer was perfunctory and was not performing his duty well.
The petition further stated that the Investigation Officer totally overlooked the involvement of the Minister though his name was mentioned by Ramakant in the FIR and statement recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
According to the petition the Police had filed a Charge-sheet against all the 14 accused, however, they dropped the name of Jena.
After listening to this all, Judicial First-Class Magistrate (JFCM) stated, “The investigating officer has submitted that none of the witnesses corroborated the statement of the complainant regarding the allegation against Mr. Jena.”
The Magistrate observed that “It is apposite that a thorough investigation is required in the light of allegations made in the protest petition against Pratap Kumar Jena. Therefore, inspector-in-charge of Mahanaga police station is directed to take up further investigation of the case against Pratap Kumar Jena as expeditiously as possible.”
Kulamani Baral and his Associate Dibya Singh were brutally attacked by some hoodlums with sharp weapons.
The two were rushed to the hospital where one, Kulamani, was declared brought dead and the other, Dibya, succumbed to death during the ongoing treatment.
Also Read: Murder and Culpable Homicide under the Indian Penal Code, 1860