BHUBANESWAR: After arresting NSUI Odisha unit president Udit Pradhan on charges of raping a 19-year-old woman in the city few months back, police have also apprehended his associate Ayushman Sahoo, a BTech second-year student of a private university here, for his alleged involvement in the crime.
Pradhan was arrested late on Sunday after the victim lodged a complaint against him. However, while recording her statement before the police and the court, the victim alleged that both Pradhan and Sahoo raped her by spiking her drink with sedatives.
“In her statement before the police, the girl said that she and her female friend went to meet Sahoo and they were moving around in his car on March 18 evening. Pradhan joined them at Station Square here as he knew Sahoo. They then took her to a hotel in Mancheswar, spiked her drinks and gang-raped her. The involvement of the victim’s female friend is also being looked into,” said ACP Biswaranjan Senapati.
Meanwhile, Mancheswar police have turned the case to 70(1) (gangrape). Further investigation is underway.