Pipili rape victim finally cremated

Ending controversy over Pipili gangrape victim’s cremation, her mortal remains were consigned to flames by her family members at the Swargadwar here on Saturday. She was declared dead on Thursday after remaining in coma for over six months.

The girl’s father, Babuli Behera, reached Puri with some villagers around 8.30 pm to take possession of the body. They met CDMO Gyanendra Kumar Sahoo in the presence of Additional SP D P Gochayat to complete the formalities before taking the body.

Babuli claimed that though the Government had assured them that their family would be  rehabilitated and a job provided to his son, nothing has been done as yet. He said  there was no news about his son after he left the ambulance carrying the victim girl Babina’s body on Thursday. Fearing attacks by villagers, Babuli has demanded security for his family.

“As per suggestions made by our community priest, we have decided to perform her last rites at Swargadwar in Puri,” the girl’s father said.

“The Puri district administration has been asked to do the needful,” Chief Secretary B K Patnaik told reporters after Governor M C Bhandare observed that the wishes of the victim’s parents must be respected.

Though the family agreed to cremate the body, which was kept in a morgue at Puri, it demanded a CBI probe into the entire episode. “Let the body be cremated first, we will take up the matter at appropriate level,” her father said. The State Government had provided Rs 10 lakh financial assistance to the victim’s family immediately after her death.

Meanwhile, different civil society and women’s organisations and political parties staged demonstrations at Bhubaneswar and other places seeking justice for the victim and her family. The activists of SUCI had a minor scuffle with the police while staging civil disobedience in front of the State secretariat.

The Dalit leaders condemned the police action of whisking away the victim’s body first to Arjungada village and then to Puri against the wishes of the family members.