Bhubaneswar: Nearly a year after the infamous gang rape of a school student in Kunduli of Koraput district, former BJD leader Damodar Rout Tuesday alleged that the case was watered down to protect one of the three accused security personnel.
Talking to media persons here, Rout said the victim had told the media that she was gang-raped by three security personnel. The chairperson of the BJD Scheduled Caste Cell had also admitted the same at that time.
“However, the case was diluted to protect a Tamil security personnel, who was one of the accused in the case,” he alleged.
The former minister, however, neither named the security personnel he was referring to nor identified the person who gave him protection.
Lashing out at the police, Rout said during preliminary investigation, semen was found on the clothes of the victim worn at the time of the incident. However, later the police sent another set of clothes of the victim for the forensic test only to cover up the incident, the MLA alleged.
“Do such things happen anywhere except Odisha?” Dama asked.
A Class IX student was allegedly gang-raped by a group of men in uniform inside Lanjiguda forest October 10 last year.
The incident had sparked statewide public outcry. The victim committed suicide in her house January 22 this year.
