Rayagada: A POCSO court in Rayagada Tuesday framed charges against Maoist leader Azad, also known as Dunna Keshava Rao, in connection with a 2013 case involving alleged rape and torture of a minor girl. Azad is currently lodged as an undertrial prisoner at Jharsuguda jail.
Although his advocate Nab Kumar Kanta fi led a petition seeking to absolve Azad of the offences, the court framed charges against top Maoist leader. Additional District and Sessions Judge and POCSO court judge Sweta Mishra rejected the petition and remanded Azad to judicial custody.
According to the case details, it was April 25, 2013, when a minor girl lodged a complaint at Bissamkatak police station, alleging that about a year ago, she was abducted by Azad, along with several other Maoists – Nikhil, Sagar, Mitu, Sadhu and Subas. They threatened her at gunpoint and gangraped her.
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She was allegedly held captive in forest areas of Chandrapur, Phulbani, Gajapati, Karlaghati and Niyamgiri hills. However, she escaped around 15 days before fi ling the complaint and later approached the police. A case (43/13) was registered under Sections 363, 366(A), 376(G), 506 and 34 of the IPC, Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, and Sections 4 and 8 of the POCSO Act. Kanta dubbed the allegations false, stating that Azad had surrendered before Hyderabad police in May 2011 and had been in custody since then, making his involvement in the alleged 2012 offence impossible.