The pressure is mounting on the Orissa police to arrest Bitti alias Bittihotra Mohanti, son of former DGP Bidya Bhusan Mohanti, who is absconding since December 4, 2006.
BHUBANESHWAR: The pressure is mounting on the Orissa police to arrest Bitti alias Bittihotra Mohanti, son of former DGP Bidya Bhusan Mohanti, who is absconding since December 4, 2006.
The police appear to be clueless about his whereabouts. He came on a parole on November 20, 2006 and later absconded. At that time no effort was made to arrest Bitti as his father was holding a senior position in the police department.
Bitti is accused of raping a German tourist at a hotel in Rajasthan in Februrary 2006. His father has been charged with helping Bitti jump bail.
After Mohanti surrendered before a court in Jaipur, Rajasthan, on Thursday, pressure has mounted on the Orissa police to arrest Bitti at any cost. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, too, adopted a hard stance and said:
“Law will take its own course.”Meanwhile, Mohanti was granted bail by a district court in Jaipur a day after being sent to judicial custody.
Sources close to the Mohantis said Bitti was not living in Orissa anymore. Senior police officers said if Bitti was arrested during his stay in Cuttack, such an embarrassing situation could have been avoided.
After Bitti jumped parole, he had come to Cuttack to undergo a psychiatric treatment. Though Bitti stayed in Cuttack for 15 days, the police did not arrest him.
Later, under pressure from the Rajasthan government and direction of the courts, the state government tried to arrest him. A squad under the supervision of Cuttack SP Somya Priyadrashi was formed. The squad visited various parts of the country to nab Bitti, but failed to catch him.
Rajasthan police frequently visited Orissa to arrest Bitti and his father BB Mohanti. Later, they alleged that their Orissa counterpart did not provide the requisite support to arrest the duo.
When Rajasthan police, armed with a non-bailable warrant, again came to arrest Mohanti, the former cop had gone on leave. After the SC intervened, the issue snowballed into a major controversy.
The government transferred the then DGP Amarananda Patnaik for providing tacit support to Mohanti. Later, the government suspended Mohanti.
subhashish_m@yahoo.com
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