Cuttack: Orissa High Court on Thursday started hearing on the necessity of a CBI probe into the alleged Kunduli gang-rape, giving a new lease of life to the case that had shocked the state six months ago.

The case will be taken up for further hearing on May 15.

The case assumes significance as the BJD government has been under attack from the Opposition for failing to deliver justice to the victim, who allegedly committed suicide on January 22.

The division bench of Chief Justice Vineet Saran and Justice B.R. Sarangi started hearing with high court lawyer Gautam Siddique submitting his rejoinder to the state government's reply to his PIL.

Siddique had filed the PIL on October 16, seeking a probe by the CBI or the National Investigating Agency (NIA). Acting on it, the court had issued notice to the state government on November 3.

The state government had filed a counter-affidavit on November 21.

In his rejoinder to it, Siddique on Thursday argued that "the counter affidavit is a misconceived one and liable to be ignored as the state government and entire police mechanism has miserably failed to handle the case from all aspects". The incident on October 10 last year involved a minor girl who was allegedly gang-raped by four uniformed personnel near Sorisapadar jungle in Koraput.

The victim a class IX student government welfare school of Musaguda village in Patangi police station limits had gone to Kunduli in connection with Aadhaar card formalities in the morning.

After registering her biometrics for Aadhaar card, she was walking home alone. On the way, four unidentified persons in uniform dragged her to a nearby jungle, gang-raped her and abandoned her there.

In the counter affidavit, the Koraput superintendent of police stated that a CID-crime branch probe and a judicial inquiry were on following orders of the state government.

"After long six months of occurrence the CID-crime branch has miserably failed to disclose the truth behind the allegation which is creating displeasure, retaliation and confusion among the public," Siddique contended in court.

Siddique told the court that the recorded statement of the singular minor witness on the basis of which allegations of gang-rape was negated has not been submitted along with the counter affidavit.