Kendrapara: The Jamboo Marine police Thursday arrested two women for their involvement in the assault and molestation of a woman, who was allegedly stripped and attacked on a village road. According to Kendrapara SDPO Debendra Mallick, police have registered cases against the accused under Sections 126(2), 296, 74, 76, and 351(3) of the BNS Act, along with Section 8 of the POCSO Act, and Sections 126(2), 115(2), 74, 76, 324(4), 351(2), 109, and 3(5) of the BNS Act. The accused were produced before the SDJM court, which remanded them to judicial custody. However, the prime accused, Ashoka Baidya, is yet to be arrested as he is absconding. Raids are underway to apprehend him, the SDPO said. The police said that the victim was confined to a room where a stray dog was released.
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The accused also allegedly attempted to sexually assault the victim’s minor daughter. According to Nikunja Kishore Pradhan, the Sub-Inspector of Jamboo Marine police station, the incident occurred in Batighar village under Mahakalapara block. The victim’s husband was working in Paradip, leaving the woman and their minor daughter alone at home. Taking advantage of the husband’s absence, a fellow villager, identified as Ashoka Baidya, allegedly harassed the woman and her daughter regularly, passing vulgar comments and sexually harassing both of them.
The victim filed an FIR alleging that Ashoka Baidya, along with his wife Jinu Baidya and their relative Parbati Baidya, barged into her house and verbally abused her November 20 morning. When she protested, they dragged her out of the house, stripped her on the village road, and assaulted her with an iron pipe. She was later rescued and rushed to Paradip Hospital in critical condition. In a second FIR, the victim accused Ashoka Baidya of forcibly dragging her minor daughter into a nearby forest and attempting to rape her.
