Kunduli Case turning out to be BJD Govt’s Achilles’ Heel

ONI Bureau: Whether suspension of Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda or holding ‘The Tall Man Biju Patnaik’ event, the BJD Government in Odisha hardly finding any relief over the Kunduli gangrape issue, as people seem unforgiving and unrelenting today.

The Congress Party has taken a temporary break, as its leaders have gone to Delhi to discuss the political situation in the state. However, the BJP is not in a mood to let the government bury the case. Media expose on Semen found from the victim’s undergarments, has complicated things further.

The preliminary report, which was exposed by a leading TV channel, proved beyond doubt that semen of two people were found from the undergarments of the victim. The report was submitted by the State Forensic Lab on 17th October 2017 – 7 days after the alleged gangrape.

When the leaked report triggered a massive outrage, the Forensic Lab issued a press release to clarify that it was an interim report and the final report had different results. While the final report is not made public yet, Purna Chandra Mandal, Director of State Forensic Laboratory confirmed to a TV channel that there was no trace of semen in the final report.

But, experts have trashed his claims. Dr. Bimalendu Ray, former Deputy Director of Forensic Laboratory, said if preliminary report found trace of semen of two people, it’s not at all possible that they would vanish in the final report. It’s clear that the report was changed due to external pressure. He also drew attention to the infamous Anjana Mishra rape case where the final report was changed to suit the ruling government and later the then Director landed in CBI net on the same issue.

At the ‘Janamanch’ programme of a TV Channel, the relatives of Kunduli victim made serious allegations and narrated their story how they were harassed and threatened by the police to withdraw the case and keep quiet on this matter. Similar allegations were levelled by the victim too earlier.

While the Government has shot itself in the foot over the report, media and social activists are accused of ignoring the victim’s statements and allegations when she was alive. She kept repeating the allegations and sought justice, but nobody took up her case and allowed her to go into depression and then take the drastic step of committing suicide.

It still remains a mystery why the Odisha Government has messed up “Kunduli gangrape” case although the victim had accused BSF CoBRA Jawans of gangrape. Was there a nexus between cops at various level to suppress the truth? Or, was any top Politician or Bureaucrat involved in this case? Whatever, apart from the victim, the worst sufferer in this case is Odisha’s popular CM Naveen Patnaik. The incident has made a big dent in his clean image and ‘no mercy’ approach towards the guilty.

The Women and Youth in Odisha are outraged and angered by the turn of events. They look to the CM for justice. It’s high time the CM acts tough and not allow the culprits escape. Or else, the Kunduli fire would continue to rage and he would find it really tough to handle the situation. If he fails here, he would never be forgiven by the people.