JAJPUR: Police on Tuesday arrested a Sarpanch of Barachana block in the district for allegedly attempting to rape a married woman in Banamalipur village. The accused has been identified as Tapas Chandra Ray, Sarpanch of Majhipada gram panchayat in Jajpur district. Balichandrapur police arrested the Sarpanch who had been on the run since filing of FIR by the victim with the local police after raiding several places, police said.
As per the complaint, Ray, a father of te to the house of the victim in Banamalipur village while the latter was alone in her house on March 31 night. Taking advantage of her husband’s absence, the Sarpanch allegedly molested her and tried to rape her.
“The Sarpanch came to my house on the pretext of providing me a pucca house under Prime Minister Awas Yojana on March 31 night. I was alone in the house as my husband was away. Taking advantage of the situation, he locked the door of my house from inside and tried to rape me,” said the 28-year-old victim, a mother of two, in her complaint.
When she raised an alarm, the accused fled from her house, she stated in her complaint. The victim narrated the incident to her husband after he returned home late in night. The victim filed a complaint with the police on the next day of the incident. On receiving information, police rushed to the spot and started investigation.
“Based on the complaint, we conducted medical examination of the victim and recorded her statement under Section 164 of CrPC. We had also launched a manhunt to arrest the accused as he had been on the run since filing of the complaint,” said Rakesh Chandra Tripathy, inspector-in-charge of Balichandrapur police station.
Police were tracking the mobile phone of the accused and conducting raids at different places to arrest him. After a three-week long chase, police finally managed to arrest the Sarpanch from Cuttack on Tuesday. “We conducted medical examination of the accused after arresting him today,” he said, adding that the accused was arrested under Sections 341, 448, 354, 376 and 511 of IPC.
The Sarpanch was forwarded to the court on Tuesday and later remanded in judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected, police said.
Juvenile detained for raping minor
Sambalpur: In a shocking incident, a five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 15-year-old boy in Ghudkatikra village under Burla police limits in the district on Monday. The incident came to light after the parents of the girl child lodged a compliant at Burla police station on Tuesday. Police have already detained the juvenile involved in the crime.
The boy had dropped out of the school after Class IX while the victim is a student of Class I. Sources said the accused is a neighbour of the victim girl. The mothers of the girl and the boy had gone to market at Gosala under Burla police limits on Monday morning when the incident took place. The mother of the victim left her daughter at the house of the accused to watch television before she left for market. The boy was alone in the house after his mother too left for the market. Taking advantage of the situation, the boy raped the girl child.
The girl came out of the house crying when her mother returned from the market. Subsequently, the girl narrated her ordeal to her mother. The parents of the girl then lodged compliant in the police station. A case has been registered under Section 376 and 4/6 of the POCSO Act and further investigation is on. Sambalpur SP Sanjeev Arora said a case has been registered in Burla police station.
The juvenile has already been arrested. The medical examination of both the juvenile and the victim has been conducted. The boy will be produced before the juvenile court. The police will complete the investigation within 10 days and all steps will be taken to ensure that the accused gets punished, he added.