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AFTER waging a war for justice for 22
long years, an aggrieved husband has finally managed to avenge the
murder of his wife. Today, Nabakishore Mohapatra is a free man __ free
from the burden that he carried for more than two decades. The
sensational Chhabirani gang rape and murder case that shook Orissa in
the early Eighties reached a conclusive end on April 24, 2002 when the
Supreme Court of India convicted four of the accused to ten years of
imprisonment.
This judgement set aside the verdict of the High Court of Orissa which
had acquitted all the accused in 1984 citing that there was not enough
evidence. The High Court judgement was in total contrast to the verdict
of the lower court which had convicted all 12 persons accused of being
involved in the crime. Although Nabakishore has welcomed the verdict
saying that his faith in the judiciary has increased, his greatest
disappointment however is that the two main persons __ Nanda Mohanty and
Dibakar Nayak __ who masterminded the gruesome murder were not tried and
went scotfree.
The story goes back to October 3, 1980, a dark night on a deserted river
bed. Nabakishore, his wife Chhabirani and their eight-month- old son
Danny were fleeing from Tihidi village in Jagatsinghpur district where
they worked as rural reporters. Nabakishore worked for a local daily, "Prajatantra"
and his wife represented a magazine called "Durmukha". A series of
newspaper reports against the nefarious activities of some local traders
and Congress leaders had led to deep animosity between the local leaders
and the journalist. Earlier in the day, Nabakishore had been picked up
by goons of Nanda Mohanty, taken to the Congress office, beaten up and
intimida with dire consequences unless he left the place at the
earliest. Fearing for his life the couple decided to flee under cover of
darkness. Nabakishore's ancestral village Dihasahi was close by and they
had to cross the Biluakhai river to reach it. While on the river bed,
they were chased by a group of people, allegedly sent by their enemies.
In despair, Chhabirani handed over her baby son and pleaded with her
husband to run away. The last sight of his wife that continues to haunt
Nabakishore is the attackers (about eight of them, some of whom
Nabakishore recognised when he focussed the torchlight on them)
surrounding his wife and her desperate shrieks across the riverbed.
When Nabakishore reached a nearby village and managed to return with a
few villagers, all he found was the lifeless, naked body of his wife.
Initially, the police refused to lodge an FIR unless he withdrew the
names of the local leaders. After nearly 36 hours, Chhabirani's body was
picked up for post-mortem.
During the course of the trial Nabakishore faced immense difficulties.
He received threats to his life, was attacked by unknown assailants,
pressurised by senior police officers to withdraw his statements and
offered large sums of money to keep silent. However, the crusade for
justice continued despite all odds.
Nabakishore who has given up journalism and has remarried, now works as
a field assistant in the Forest Corporation, a job he got through the
intervention of the late Biju Patnaik. ( In an interview to a local
news-magazine, Nabakishore acknowledges the help given by Biju Pataik,
including money to fight the case) Incidentally, when the murder took
place, there was a Congress government in the State, and there are
allegations of deliberate attempts to hush up the case.
The Chhabirani case which symbolised atrocities on a journalist who
dared to expose corruption, apart from reflecting on the dubious role of
the then government, administration, police and judiciary, has thrown
open a floodgate of memories. Speaking to a local daily, a retired
district judge recalled the threats that he received from several
quarters during the hearing of the case. The judge, Krishna Chandra Kar,
has also alleged that several advocates (who were later rewarded with
postings as judges of the State High Court) were also a part of the
conspiracy to shield the accused.
In a media conference, the State unit of the CPI(M) has demanded a probe
against several former High Court judges who had acquitted the 12
accused, taking into view the Supreme Court judgement. The trial court
had convicted the accused for murder and rape and awarded them life
imprisonment. On the other hand, the High Court converted the murder
charge into culpable homicide not amounting to murder and acquitted the
accused. But now, the biggest question that haunb many is whether
justice will prevail. Because although more than a month has elapsed
since the judegement was delivered, those convicted are yet to be
arrested.
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