Probe into minor maid torture begins

OST Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jan 25:  The Airfield police on has begun probe into the brutal torture of a minor girl by a family of Pokhariput area of the city here.

The police that had refused to register an FIR by the city-based Childline on behalf of the victim two days ago while asking the credibility of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the role of the Childline in the case, swung into action on Friday after the intervention of the director, state Women and Child Development S Aswasthi and DCP Nitinjit Singh.

Talking to OST, IIC of Airfield police station Rashmi Ranjan Sahu said the police has begun investigation after registering a case.

“Police are now interrogating the parents of the victim while the accused couple Prasanna Sahu and Gitarani Sahoo would be interrogated on Saturday”, he added.

Meanwhile, in a directive to the police, the CWC has said that a plain-clothed woman police officer would interrogate the victim in presence of a lady counsellor or a member of the Childline.

The same procedure would be applied when the victim would be produced before the magistrate, the order said.

It has been decided that the Baleswar CWC would take a decision on the future of the victim. It would also decide on handing over the victim to her family members who had allowed her to work as a housemaid.

In this connection, Khordha CWC member Benudhar Senapati had a discussion with the Baleswar Child Protection Officer and the district CWC on Friday.