Twenty-five years after the alleged rape and murder of a woman journalist in Orissa, a statue of hers has been put up in a village as a mark of respect.
Chabirani Das was gangraped and murdered near the Beluakhai beach in the coastal district of Jagatsinghpur on Oct 3, 1980. She was staying along with her husband Naba and a child at Dihasaibiri village in the same district.
Chabirani was a reporter with the state's popular monthly magazine Drumukha. Her husband was also a journalist, working then as a reporter for the Oriya daily Pragatibadi, weekly newspaper Nirvika and monthly magazine Niakhuntia.
The July 1980 issue of 'Nirvika' carried Naba's story against a local dealer, who in nexus with the block development officer was black-marketing consumer goods supplied by the government.
The dealer threatened the couple with dire consequences if they didn't leave the house and the village. When Chabirani and her husband were trying to escape, some henchmen gangraped her on the beach and then killed her.
Her husband along with their two-year-old son managed to escape. The gruesome incident rocked the state and the then Congress government led by Janaki Pattanaik drew flak from several quarters.
A court had sentenced four of the 11 culprits, who had formal complaints against them, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years.
The statue was formally unveiled in Dihasaibiri village by Pramila Mallick, state women and child development minister Sunday.
The villagers under the banner of Chabirani Memorial Committee also organised a meeting to mark the occasion that was largely attended.
Chabirani's son Danial, who now works in the neighbouring Kendrapada district collector's office said: "At last my mother's soul will rest in peace after the installation of the statue".
