- Two brothers allegedly gang-raped a 15-year-old girl in Odisha
- Accused attempted to bury her alive after she became five months pregnant
- The police have arrested the two brothers, identified as Bhagyadhar Das and Panchanan Das
Two brothers allegedly gang-raped a 15-year-old girl and then attempted to bury her alive after she became five months pregnant in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district.
The police have arrested the two brothers, identified as Bhagyadhar Das and Panchanan Das from Banashbara village, while a third suspect, Tulu, remains missing. Authorities have launched a manhunt to track him down.
According to the police, the accused raped the minor multiple times over an extended period. When they discovered her pregnancy, they allegedly attempted to bury her alive to conceal their crime. According to police sources, the accused offered to pay for and facilitate an abortion. They called the survivor to a location, and she complied. Upon reaching, she found that there was a ditch dug up on the ground. The accused then proceeded to threaten her that if she didn't get the abortion, they would bury her in the ditch alive.
The survivormanaged to escape the accused and narrated the ordeal to her father. She underwent a medical examination at the District Headquarters Hospital, and a case was registered following a formal complaint lodged by her father at Kujang Police Station.
The two arrested suspects have been presented in court, and investigations are ongoing.
This is the second reported case of sexual violence in Jagatsinghpur this week. On Tuesday, another minor was allegedly kidnapped and raped by two men in farmland while returning from a birthday party. The survivor, who was found bleeding profusely, was rushed to hospital for treatment.
On Sunday, a similar case was reported in Malkangiri district. A minor girl was kidnapped by three men who gang-raped her. She managed to escape their clutches, but was raped by a truck driver she encountered on her way home.
Over the past month, at least 12 rapes have been reported across the state. In June this year, five rape and gang-rape cases were reported in the state within a 10-day period.
Earlier this month, a 20-year-old student at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore died after setting herself on fire, reportedly due to the dismissal of her sexual harassment complaint against a teacher.
In a separate case on Sunday, a 15-year-old girl in Puri's Nimapada block was set on fire by unidentified assailants and airlifted to AIIMS in New Delhi for advanced treatment.
(With inputs from Dev Kumar Ghosh)
