Puri: A viral video has put the spotlight back on the death of a minor girl from Balanga, who succumbed to burns during treatment at AIIMS-Delhi on August 2.
Puri police, however, on Monday clarified that the leaked video statement does not accurately represent the victim’s actual testimony.
Officials said that the victim’s statement was recorded four times—thrice at AIIMS-Delhi and once at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar. The initial statement, recorded by the Bhubaneswar Sub-Collector, lacked clarity. Subsequent statements, recorded by police, doctors, and a Judicial Magistrate in Delhi, were documented in writing and videographed.
According to police sources, the girl frequently changed her statements. In AIIMS-New Delhi, the 15-year-old, in her statement recorded before a judicial magistrate, explicitly said she had attempted to die by suicide and was afraid to reveal the truth. She further added that no other person was involved in the incident.
Police added that all written statements and related documents will be presented in court soon.
Meanwhile, the Crime Branch’s cyber team has launched an investigation to identify the person who leaked the purported video of the victim.
THE VIRAL VIDEO
In the purported video circulating on social media platforms, the minor girl can be heard mentioning that three unidentified youths with their faces covered abducted her when she was returning home. They then made her unconscious and set her on fire.
Her words stood in sharp contrast to the police’s assertion that no one was involved in the incident.
The leak also sparked widespread concern with questions being raised about how the video went public despite stringent safeguards.
Sources said that the video was meant to remain strictly confidential with a select few police officers authorised to record it and medical staff barred from accessing the victim during the process to ensure privacy.
SP’s STATEMENT
Earlier speaking to the media, Puri SP Pinak Mishra said that the video in question appeared to have been recorded at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar on July 19, a few hours after the incident, before the victim was shifted to Delhi, where a formal statement was later taken in the presence of a judicial magistrate, adhering to legal protocols.
“The viral video is being examined to ascertain its genuineness,” he said.
He urged the citizens, who receive videos of such sensitive incidents, not to circulate them on social media, stating that it violated Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act. He further stated that police were working with the cyber team and Crime Branch to identify the person who leaked the confidential video and how it went viral on social media.
“Investigation into the incident is being carried out by following all the procedures and is in the final stages. We are awaiting some forensic reports,” he added.
WAR OF WORDS
Stating that police claims were contradictory to what the girl had said in her statement, the BJD accused the Mohan Majhi government of shielding the guilty.
“Soon after the girl’s death, Odisha police tweeted that no one was involved in the incident. Now the viral video, in which the victim purportedly mentions three people, has raised disturbing questions about the probe. Why is the state government not handing over the investigation of the case to the CBI as there are so many discrepancies?” asked sBJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty.
Mohanty accused Deputy CM Pravati Parida, in whose constituency the incident took place, of attempting to shield the accused. “She was shifted to AIIMS Delhi on our request. Even the deputy chief minister, Pravati Parida, visited her and said she was recovering. Police recorded her statement but made no arrests. This video casts a shadow on the probe,” he added.
Responding to the BJD’s presser, BJP spokesperson Surath Biswal said that the Opposition is politicising the sensitive issue. Soon after her death on August 2, the father of the victim had come out with a video statement saying she had died by suicide due to mental stress and depression, he stressed.
BJD MP RECEIVES RAPE, MURDER THREAT
On Sunday, BJD Rajya Sabha MP Sulata Deo allegedly received rape and murder threats from a social media user in response to her Facebook post demanding the state government address the leak of a viral video statement of the Balanga victim.
A few minutes after she posted the message, a social media user said that she should be raped and murdered.
Deo flagged the issue on X, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, the PMO, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and DGP YB Khurania, and shared screenshots of the threats.
“If a female MP can face such threats, how safe are other women in the state?” the MP asked, adding that she would raise the issue in the ongoing Parliament monsoon session and file a police complaint if the authorities do not act on their own.