Cong observes 1 min silent torched for Balasore student

Bhubaneswar: Five days after three miscreants set a 15-year-old girl on fire in Puri district, Odisha Police is still clueless about the attackers. The police contacted AIIMS, Delhi, where the girl is being treated, to seek its permission to talk to her, sources said.

The girl, who sustained 75 per cent burns on July 19, was airlifted from AIIMS Bhubaneswar and admitted at the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery of AIIMS Delhi on July 20. Her condition continues to be critical. Though the case on record is being probed by Balanga police station, a five-member Crime Branch team has launched an investigation into the matter. The police engaged experts of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), cyber crime cell, forensic science and dog squad.

Top police officers, including DGP Y B Khurania, have visited the place of occurrence and spoke to the villagers, but no clue regarding the miscreants’ identity or how they fled was found. A senior officer said the place is in a village and no CCTV footage was available to help the police.

“We have been making all efforts to get a clue to nab the miscreants, but to no avail. The police scanned the mobile numbers of different people in the area. This effort also failed,” the officer said. Therefore, it is planned to again meet the victim in Delhi. The Odisha Police has sought permission from the hospital authorities to facilitate a meeting with the victim, as her statement is very crucial to reach the culprits, the officer said. Meanwhile, Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister and local Nimapara MLA Pravati Parida visited the victim at AIIMS on Wednesday. “The girl’s health condition remains stable. One procedure of skin drafting has been made and a second one will be undertaken. From her talks, I could know that her pain has reduced. Let us pray for her speedy recovery. I hope that the girl will be fully recovered in 50/60 days,” she said.

Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal and some other party MPs also visited the AIIMS and enquired about the health condition of the girl.