Bhubaneswar: Amid state-wide uproar over a series of rape assaults on minor girls, the state government Monday informed the state Assembly that there has been a rise in minor rape incidents in the state.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, responding to Congress member Taraprasad Bahinipati said in a written reply that 1,283 incidents of rape on minors have been reported in the state in 2017 against 1,050 such cases reported in 2014. Consequently, the Chief Minister promised stringent punishment against the culprits.
The Chief Minister, who also holds the home portfolio, said 1,212 cases of rape on minors were reported in 2015, while the number of such cases reported in 2016 was 1,204. In 2017, the police have arrested 1,148 accused persons in connection with these cases. The number of persons arrested in previous years includes 1,156 in 2016; 1,122 in 2015 and 1,036 in 2014.
On the other hand, 92 cases of gang rape involving minors were reported in 2017. The number of such reported incidents was 93 in 2016, 109 in 2015 and 91 in 2016.
Patnaik said 199 persons were arrested in connection with rape incidents in 2017. In 2016 as many as 179 persons were arrested in such rape cases.
The report expresses concern over the spate of assaults on minor girls especially in April, 2018.
The white paper released by the state Home Department had also revealed that Odisha witnessed a rise in rape cases in 2017 compared to the previous year.
The number of rape cases registered in 2017 was 2,221, up from 2,144 the previous year, the report said, adding chargesheets had been filed in 1401 such incidents.
The Chief Minister also expressed his condolences with the bereaved family members of the Salipur minor rape victim and also made a statement in the house in this regard and assured strong action against the culprits in such cases.
“I feel the deep anguish of the members of this House and of people of Odisha for the rape of a child that took place in Salipur April 21. The accused was arrested within 24 hours of the gruesome incident. The child was given the best medical attention by a team of doctors at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Unfortunately, she died Sunday night,” Patnaik said, adding, “I’ll see that most stringent action is taken against the accused. A sum of Rs 5lakh has been granted to the immediate kin of the child. And I would like to send my deepest condolences to the bereaved family. And again I repeat, I feel a deep anguish at this terrible incident.”
The six-year-old girl was allegedly raped and strangulated by a person April 21. She had gone to market in the evening but did not return.
The minor was later found in an unconscious state at a school verandah and was immediately rushed to Salipur Community Health Centre (CHC) and later shifted to SCB Hospital as her condition deteriorated. She was on ventilator support and was being treated by a team of 13 doctors. However, the girl breathed her last Sunday. Police arrested the accused the following day.
Rape bid on minor
Soro: Soro police Monday arrested a fisherman on charge of attempting rape on a minor girl at Teliaganj in Balasore district. The accused was identified as Sk.Tinku, 30, of Kajimahalla village under Soro municipal limits. Tinku was produced in a court which remanded him in judicial custody. His bail plea was rejected. A case was also registered in this connection. The accused who went to the survivor’s village to sell fish allegedly tried to outrage the minor girl’s modesty when her family members were away. He even tried to entice the girl by showing obscene videos on his mobile phone. The girl reportedly narrated her ordeal to her mother subsequently. Later, the woman lodged a complaint with the police leading to the arrest of the accused.
