CUTTACK: The Crime Branch on Thursday filed a petition in Orissa high court challenging the trial court verdict acquitting two prime accused in the 2011 Pipili rape and murder case.The court of additional district judge, Bhubaneswar, had acquitted the two accused brothers — Prashant and Sukant Pradhan — on December 24 citing lack of evidence. The trial court had observed that while the murder has been established, the involvement of the accused had not.The petition in high court follows criticism from different quarters over alleged lapses on the part of CID and Crime Branch in investigating the case. In its appeal, the Crime Branch contended that the verdict of the trial court is liable to be quashed as it had not considered the prosecution case in its entirety. The investigation agency has in the petition alleged that the trial court had ignored certain material facts and witnesses presented by the prosecution, official sources said.The victim was found unconscious on a paddy field under Pipili police station limits on the morning of November 29, 2011. The incident came to light when the dalit girl was initially denied proper treatment at Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar and SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) in Cuttack . She was admitted to the special intensive care unit at SCBMCH on January 1, 2012 following intervention of the high court. She died on June 21, 2012. The Crime Branch had taken up the inquiry on January 20, 2012 after the Odisha Human Rights Commission and high court intervened in the matter.The investigating agency had ruled out rape and filed a final chargesheet against the prime accused charging them with murder, wrongful restraint, assault to outrage the modesty of a woman and criminal intimidation. The chargesheet filed on March 10, 2012 had also charged them under the Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribe (Protection of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Apart from the key accused, chargesheet had also been submitted on March 18, 2012 against two other accused — Gurna Chandra Swain and Premananda Nayak.After ordering a Crime Branch probe, the state government had also appointed a one-member commission headed by Justice (retired) P K Mohanty on January 13, 2012 to probe. The commission submitted its report to the state government on March 30, 2016 but the government is yet to present it in the assembly or made it public.

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