Dhenkanal: Three men were arrested Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and harassing her male friend near Bhanragada village under Gondia police limits in Dhenkanal district Saturday. The accused also allegedly recorded a video of the incident and circulated it on social media. The arrested are: Saroj Nayak, 41, and Sameer Nayak, 37, of Bania village, and Sangram Rath alias Durga of Mandar Raipur village under Gondia police station.
According to police, the woman and her male friend, residents of Chowdwar police station area, had visited Kapilash Saturday. While returning, they were intercepted by the accused near Bhanragada on Kapilash-Tangi road. The accused allegedly assaulted and harassed them. The two victims pleaded before the accused to let them go, but to no avail. Some local residents arrived at the spot and intervened, following which the situation was brought under control. The woman and her friend then left on a motorcycle. The accused allegedly followed them, continued harassing them and recorded a video, which was later circulated on social media. The woman lodged a complaint at Chowdwar police station September 21.
During investigation, police found that the incident had occurred under the jurisdiction of Gondia police station and forwarded the complaint there. A case (420) was registered at Gondia police station under Sections 126(2), 296, 115(2), 75, 351(1), 356(1) and 3(5) of the BNS and Section 67 of IT Act. Dhenkanal SP Abhinav Sonkar said Tuesday that police had investigated the complaint under the Zero FIR procedure and arrested the accused. The incident at Kapilash, a prominent tourist destination in Dhenkanal district, has sparked concern. In a similar incident reported Saturday in Bihar’s Jamui district, police arrested three juveniles for allegedly harassing and assaulting two Class X students.
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