Binjharpur: Tension gripped the neighbourhood of Bijugramin market in Bitana panchayat of Jajpur district after the rape of an 11-year-old girl Sunday. Her sister escaped from the rapist’s clutches and raised an alarm.
The accused, Kesab Mallick, (35), runs a paan shop in Bitana village.
Sources said the incident occurred when the victim and her eight-year-old sister had gone to xerox their father’s Aadhaar card and voter’s ID at the market. After that the two sisters went to Mallick’s shop to buy chocolates.
However, Mallick tricked the girls into his shop and locked them inside. Later, he tried to outrage their modesty. However, the eight-year-old girl bit Mallick’s hand and somehow managed to escape from the shop while the victim was overpowered by Mallick.
Mallick then reportedly molested the girl and raped her inside the shop before her younger sister could raise an alarm in the market. On hearing the girl’s pleas, locals and her relatives gathered at the shop and rescued the victim from Mallick. They held Mallick and thrashed him black and blue as the victim narrated her ordeal to her family.
However, before the police could arrive, Mallick escaped and ran for his life fearing public anger. locals ransacked his shop and set it on fire.
Later, the police arrived and pacified the mob. They recorded the statement of the victim and sent her for medical examination and later handed her over to her family. Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested Mallick from a relative’s house later.
The incident triggered tension in the area as the locals and the victim’s relatives demanded action against Mallick. A case was registered based on the statement of the victim and a probe is on, police said, adding that Mallick would be produced in court after interrogation. PNN
