Visakhapatnam: Leaders and activists of the Progressive Organisation for Women (POW) and other organisations have demanded the conduction of a judicial inquiry into the mysterious death of M. Roja, whose body was found in a well 5 km from her home on July 11, two days after missing.
Roja, a resident of the Ananthavaram area of Padmanabham mandal in Vizag city was reported missing on July 9. Her body was found two days later, in a well. The police registered a case of suspicious death under Section 174 of the CrPC but later dismissed it as a suicide. However, members of Roja’s family, suspecting that she was raped by four men and then thrown into the well, insisted on a post mortem. Villagers allege that the culprits used their influence to get the police to close the case.
Addressing media on Wednesday, M. Lakshmi, the state general secretary of the POW, said that people from seven villages and Roja’s family members had enough evidence to prove that her death was a murder. She added police and officials of the revenue department were trying to protect Santosh and his friends, the accused. She said that the tahsildar had mentioned in her report that Roja had committed suicide because she was being forced to marry someone she did not like.
