Bhubaneswar:
A 15-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by three people in Odisha's Kendrapada district, sparking protests across the region, police said today.
Three people, including a vehicle driver, allegedly kidnapped the student yesterday when she was on her way back home from a festival near her village Kantia, about 100 from Bhubaneswar.
The girl filed a complaint today, said police officer Tapas Pradhan.
The crime triggered outrage and anger in the area with hundreds of people blocking roads and demanding immediate arrest of the offenders.
The villagers returned home after the police rushed to the site and assured that arrests would be made soon.
On April 4, a teenaged girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped in Gopalpur village in Balasore, about 170 km from Bhubaneswar. The police said one of the two suspects had been arrested.
In separate incidents, police said two other minor girls were subjected to sexual assault. A minor girl was kidnapped and raped by a bus staff in Sundergarh district while two people raped another girl in Rayagada district. The police arrested all the three accused yesterday.
"We are shocked with such incidents. The police are not taking prompt action against the accused in many cases despite complaints being lodged. People who were involved in such crimes should be boycotted socially," said Anuradha Mohanty, a women's rights activist
Odisha registered 1,112 rape cases in 2011, higher than the 1,025 cases reported in 2010. Last year, more than 1,300 rape cases were reported, official sources said.