Congress demands CBI inquiry into Urmila's suicide

Bhubaneswar, Jan 7 (UNI) The Congress today demanded a CBI inquiry into the suicide of a deserted woman alleging that she was found dead near the residence of Orissa Information and Public Relation Minister Debashis Nayak.

On Friday, 32-year-old Urmila Rout consumed pesticides and was rushed to the Capital Hospital where she later died. The woman, deserted by her husband, had met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday and narrated her plight about police inaction on her complaint.

Mr Patnaik had assured the woman to look into her grievances but on January 5, she committed suicide near the state secretariat.

Although the Chief Minister had ordered a Crime Branch inquiry into the death of Urmila Rout, the Congress rejected it and pressed for a CBI probe.

AICC General Secretary V Narayan Swami told newspersons here that his party had definite information the woman was found 'lying dead' near the official residence of Mr Nayak.

Rout had earlier attempted a suicide near the official chamber of Mr Nayak, inside the state secretariat. She was later arrested and sent to jail. Police said, in prison the woman attempted to kill herself though Rout alleged she was assaulted and set afire by the prison staff alongwith some jailinmates.

Meanwhile, Orissa Mahila Congress staged a protest demonstration near the Raj Bhawan demanding the arrest of Mr Nayak and a CBI inquiry into what they called the ''mysterious'' death of Urmila Rout.

UNI