Kuanrmunda: Police arrested four persons, including a juvenile, in connection with the rape of two minor girls in the Biramitrapur police station area of Sundaragada district and forwarded them to court, officials said Thursday. Three of the accused, identified as Manji Minz, 18, and Alex Minz, 19, both of Birutola in Rata Khanda, and Bandhana Khalkho, 21, of Nuatoli were produced before the Sundaragada POCSO court, while the juvenile was sent to Sundaragada Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Biramitrapur Inspector-in-Charge Ram Prasad Nag said. Police had initially de tained five suspects in con nection with the case.
One of them was released after investigators found no evidence linking him to the incident, Nag said. The two girls had lodged a complaint at Biramitrapur police station Wednesday, accompanied by their fam ily members and villagers, alleging that they had been sexually assaulted by the accused. The incident took place around 10pm Monday when the girls were returning to their village after attending a cultural programme. The accused, who were known to the girls, offered them a lift on a motorcycle and took them to a nearby forest, where they were sexually assaulted, police said. The girls and the four accused underwent medical examinations at the Biramitrapur Community Health Centre, police said. A case, numbered 419/26, has been registered at Biramitrapur police station under various sections of law, Nag said. The investigation is continuing.