Odisha Govt Has No Fund For Rape Victims!

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik can use the helicopter to reach Cuttack, which is just 23 km from the state capital, but when it comes to releasing fund for rape victims, the state government shows the alibi of fund crunch.

A nine-year-old tribal girl has been waiting for compensation under Odisha Victim Compensation Scheme for last three years. A police constable raped her in 2014.

Even as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) directed the state government to provide compensation to the rape victim, she is still waiting for compensation.

A letter from Sundargarh District Child Protection Officer (DCPU) written to Additional Director General of Police on 31 August this year revealed that due to lack of fund the compensation had not been paid.

However, it is not the isolated case.

“The DCPU found that 16 numbers of Victim Compensation Cases are pending still, out of it there is seven victim compensation registered under below 18 years victims cases,” the letter read.

Sanjay Kumar Majhi, a police constable with Odisha Auxiliary Police Force, had raped the minor girl when she was six-year-old in 2014.

The DGP had assured the NHRC in August 2014 that action has been initiated by the competent authority to make the compensation to the victim as per the provisions of the POSCO Act and rules thereunder, within the stipulated time.

A case was registered in Raghunathpali Police Station in Odisha’s Sundargarh district against the police constable Sanjay under the POCSO Act.

Earlier, the commission had directed Odisha’s Addl. D.G. of Police to ensure that necessary compensation as admissible under the POSCO Act and rules thereunder may be made to the victim girl at the earliest possible.

The state government launched Odisha Victim Compensation Scheme in 2012, to provide monetary compensation to women including rape victims, victims of acid attack and human trafficking.

It has made provision for a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to a rape victim.

It was incumbent on all the States to frame such a scheme after insertion of a new provision under Section 357-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2008. The section deals with compensation schemes for victims of crime and their dependents.

In the case of rape, the concerned authority will call for a report of sub-divisional medical officer (SDMO) or chief district medical officer (CDMO) and report of the investigating police officer including the FIR to assess the prima facie of the incident. If the authority finds the report unacceptable, he or she should give the reasons in writing.