Ex-Policeman, Another Accused Arrested in Puri Gang Rape Case

The ‘police’ personnel offered her a lift in his car while she was waiting at a bus stand in Nimapara town.

Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Erum Gour/The Quint)

A young woman was allegedly gang-raped by two persons including a former policeman inside a police quarter in Odisha's temple town of Puri on Monday, 2 December.

Two of the four persons, including a former constable, Jitendra Sethi, accused of raping the girl in Puri town were arrested on Tuesday, 3 December and the police said the case was taken up on a priority basis and charge sheet will be filed in 20 days.

Police had said that the girl lodged a complaint saying a man, who identified himself as a police personnel, offered her a lift in his car while she was waiting at a bus stand in Nimapara town.

“I was on my way from Bhubaneswar to my village at Kakatpur. I believed him and accepted the lift,” the woman told reporters outside Kumbharpada police station where she filed her complaint.

She found three other men in the car after she got into it, the woman said.

‘Two of Them Raped Me, Two Stood Outside’

“Instead of taking me towards Kakatpur, they took me to Puri town. The four took me to a house where two of them raped me while two others left after closing the door from outside,” the victim claimed.

The house was a police quarter near Jhadeswari Club in Puri town.

The victim, during the sexual assault, managed to grab the wallet of one of the accused and the photo-identity card and Aadhaar card of his was recovered from it, the police said.

Meanwhile DIG Central Range, Ashish Kumar said, “Police took prompt action after the victim lodged a complaint. One (prime) accused has been detained and we are interrogating him. She had also alleged that total of four accused were there, two were inside the room, while, two were outside, We had rounded three more accused on suspicion ground.”

Singh added, “We will seek conduct of the trial in a fast-track court. Charge sheet will be filed within 20 days as the case has been taken up on a priority basis. The girl's statement was recorded in the presence of a magistrate.”

Constable Was Dismissed in February: DGP

Satyajit Mohanty, DGP Odisha, said, “He used to be a constable of Puri Police but was dismissed in February.”

Another case would be registered against Jitendra Sethi for using the police identity card even after being dismissed from service, the sources said.

Mohanty said the rape survivor claimed she is minor and accordingly, a case has been registered against the accused under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act besides the IPC.

He had earlier added, “Four teams are working on the investigation. Strict action shall be taken against the accused.”

Meanwhile, Puri Superintendent of Police Uma Shankar Das said that the victim and the accused constable were sent for medical examinations.

The opposition BJP and Congress demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the surge in crime against women in the state, while the ruling BJD urged other parties not to politicise the “sensitive case.”

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)