The special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the state government to probe the kidnapping and murder of five-year-old Pari from Nayagarh district has arrested the main accused in the case.

The accused, whose name is yet to be disclosed by the SIT led by senior IPS officer Arun Bothra, will be produced in a Nayagarh court. He will be taken on remand for further interrogation.

Pari was kidnapped while playing near her house in Nayagarh’s Jadupur village on July14 and her skeletal remains were found dumped in a gunny bag in the bushes behind her house on July 23. The case had triggered public resentment in the state and Pari’s parents had attempted self-immolation alleging police inaction in the case. They had also alleged that the accused were being shielded by higher education minister Arun Sahoo who hails from Nayagarh.

This is the first arrest made by the SIT in connection with the case and the accused, according to sources, also happens to be from Jadupur village.

A few days ago, the SIT had picked up a college student from Jadupur village along with two women members of his family for questioning. The investigating team released the two women but the young man is still in its custody.

The arrested accused has been booked under various sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Further investigation is on to ascertain if more people were involved in the crime. The SIT had earlier said the minor girl was raped before being killed.

SIT chief Arun Bothra said the investigating team had sufficient evidence to nail the arrested accused.

“He is the prime accused. The investigation is underway to ascertain the complicity of others who had helped him in the crime,” Bothra said.

As Pari’s skeletal remains were found near a pond, the SIT suspects that her killers might have thrown the murder weapon into the water body. The team has decided to pump out water from the pond to look for the weapon.

The case grabbed the limelight after Pari’s parents attempted self-immolation in front of the state Assembly in Bhubaneswar on November 24. With the BJP and the Congress also stepping up the attack on the government, the chief minister was forced to order a high court-monitored SIT investigation into the murder that also rocked the winter session of the state Assembly.

The BJP, which has been demanding a CBI probe into the case, is leading a padyatra from Bhubaneswar to Pari’s native village. The Congress, too, continues to demand justice for the girl’s family.