Bhubaneswar/Cuttack: A 70-year-old man was arrested for raping a minor girl at a slum in Mancheswar area here Sunday.
The septuagenarian accused, Arun, was working in a dhaba near Purusottam Basti here. Sources said Arun dragged the 12-year-old victim into a house Sunday afternoon where he raped her, locking the door from inside. The parents of the girl, who are daily wagers, were unable to locate their kid and informed their neighbours about it.
The neighbours, upon finding a lonely house locked in the area, knocked at its door repeatedly. Sensing something fishy, they broke into the room to find Arun and the minor girl there, sources added.
The accused fled the spot while he was being beaten up by the slum women. However, after a short chase he was again caught by the slum dwellers and handed over to the police.
A written complaint has been filed by the mother of the victim. Notably, the incident took place amidst the ongoing sate-wide 15-day awareness drive being organised by the Odisha Police against the growing menace of child sexual abuse. According to the police, every year around 1,000 to 1,200 cases of child sexual abuse are being registered at various police stations across the state.
In another incident, developing love affair with a man through social media proved costly for a girl from Sahid Nagar in Bhubaneswar.
The man allegedly posted some morphed photos of the girl on social media by opening a fake account after their relationship turned sour. The victim Friday lodged a complaint in this regard with the cyber crime cell of the Crime Branch and sought action against the accused.
According to the complaint, the girl had developed a relationship with a man through Facebook. The man had deliberately hidden his marital status and identified himself as a software professional based in Bangalore.
The duo had chatted through video calls several times. Moreover, the girl had sent a few of her photos to the accused on WhatsApp. However, the girl snapped her ties with the man after she came to know about his marital status, the complaint read.
Seeking revenge, the accused had allegedly opened a fake account in the social media and posted some morphed photos of the girl. He had also made several threat calls to the victim.
“The girl has submitted the accused’s phone number and a few documents while lodging the complaint. We have initiated a probe into the incident,” said an official of the cyber crime cell.
Servitor gropes 20-yr-old woman, held
Puri: Singhadwar police Sunday arrested a Srimandir servitor on charges of misbehaving with a 20-year-old woman devotee on the shrine premises. Police registered a case in this regard as per a complaint lodged by the victim, a resident of Baidyanathpur area of Berhampur, and produced the accused Santosh Kar of Dandimala Sahi in a local court. Police said the incident occurred after the temple authorities switched off all lights at the sanctum sanctorum, Jagamohan and Natamandap to perform the Alatalagi ritual. Kar allegedly groped the woman when she was standing near the Garuda Stamba (pillar) on the shrine premises along with her mother. The woman initially ignored the act. But, she caught Kar and raised an alarm when he continued doing it. Soon police and personnel of Jagannath Temple Police Service reached the spot and brought Kar to Singhadwar police station.