The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday asked for a special investigation into the Kunduli gang rape case and said the investigation team is to submit its report in 15 days time. Meanwhile to come clean on the controversies being raked up the Opposition parties, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expanded the terms of reference of the judicial probe ordered in December and also asked for further forensic tests on the apparel of the victim by the central laboratory at Kolkata.

“The government has nothing to hide as far as the tragic incident is concerned and it has extended the judicial probe to include the circumstances that led to the suicide of the victim. Since the Opposition has been raising doubts over the forensic lab report , the court has been moved to send the exhibit to Kolkata central lab for further tests and confirmation,” said an official source here on Wednesday.

Significantly, the circumstances leading to the suicide of the victim could also bring the role of politicians in the scanner. There are reports of how the girl was virtually taken away from SCB Medical College Hospital against medical advice in November- December and how the body of the girl had been forcibly taken away from police custody by a group including politicians who placed it on the road without allowing postmortem to be conducted.

It may be noted here that the minor Dalit girl had alleged on 10 October 2017 that she had been gang raped by armed men in camouflage combat uniform near Kunduli in Koraput district. The girl was admitted to Koraput hospital. A doctor at Kunduli , a medical team at Koraput and another team of doctors from MKCG Hospital Berhampur had examined the victim and found no sign of rape.

The government had ordered a crime branch probe and a judicial enquiry in December. The victim however committed suicide last week . Civil rights lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy had moved the NHRC challenging the reports that the girl had not been raped and it was a case of failed love affair. Tripathy also questioned the veracity of the FIR and the Crime Branch report .

He also raised questions on the medical treatment, the differing version of the FSL report . Justice D. Murugesan, member of the NHRC sought on the spot enquiry by a team of investigators from the NHRC within fifteen days.