Malkangiri: Four persons, including a truck driver, were arrested for allegedly raping a girl in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, police said Tuesday.
Though initially it was suspected that the minor was raped alone by the truck driver, subsequent investigations revealed that the girl had been sexually assaulted by three other men also, Malkangiri SP Vinodh Patil H told reporters.
The girl had gone to her friend’s house Sunday night but did not return home, following which her family lodged a missing person’s complaint at the Malkangiri Adarsh police station.
However, the girl was spotted Monday night along with a truck driver, in a suspicious condition, near Bija Ghat on NH 326 by locals who informed the police.
The SP said the police immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the girl, and arrested the truck driver. The rescued girl was sent to a shelter home, he said, addingthat the mother of the victim has lodged a written complaint.
The action has been taken based on the mother’s FIR at Malkangiri Police Station and also the statement of the victim.
The cases are registered under section 137(2)—kidnapping, 64—rape, 65(1)—rape of under 16 years of age and Section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act (POSCO) (Amended), 2012, 2019.
The SP said cases lodged against the truck driver identified as Shubham Singh (26), a resident of Madhya Pradesh, Manoj Harijan (30), Rohit Kumar Hial (24) and Bira Bhartia (26) of Malkangiri.
The truck, which has been seized, was transporting cement and was on its way to Jeypore in Koraput district, police said.
The SP said that all four accused persons were arrested within six hours of receiving the complaint. “Two cases were registered in connection with the incident. The truck driver took the girl to a forested area about 10-15 km from Malkangiri and raped her there. The three other accused persons also raped the girl within Town police limits,” he said.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJD and Congress leaders visited the police station and demanded a proper probe into the matter and stringent punishment for the culprits.
