Puri (Odisha) : A woman, whose disfigured body was found on Puri beach, was on Tuesday cremated at Swargadwar burning ghat. The deceased's father stuck to his allegation that the woman was raped and killed despite the police's claim that she drowned.
"If she had drowned, how were her clothes found on the beach? Why were motorcycle tyre marks found on the sand near the body and if the body was washed ashore after drowning, why was it away from the water?" the deceased's father told PTI before leaving the pilgrim town.
Asked whether the family continued to demand for a CBI probe, he said, "There is no need for a CBI investigation if Puri Police replies to our queries." Meanwhile, Sea Beach Police Station inspector in-charge Chinmaya Rout said that they have taken the matter "very seriously" but autopsy report shows that the woman died due to ante-mortem drowning.
"Investigation conducted so far also points at drowning but we are probing all angles into the death of the 18-year-old woman," he said. A senior woman police officer of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) rank is conducting the probe as per instructions of Puri Superintendent of Police K V Singh, he said.
The woman had gone missing from her hotel room on November 23 and her body was found three days later. While scrutinising CCTV footages, police found her coming out of the hotel alone. It was shown to her father. Some people have also seen her roaming the beach alone, and police have recorded their statements.
To the family's allegations that her body was burnt with acid and one of her fingers cut, police said it was natural for a body to become black when exposed to saline water for more than 24 hours. On the missing finger, police said it could have been eaten by some marine creature in the sea. "Autopsy report did not mention the use of acid on the woman's body," the inspector said. PTI
