KENDRAPARA: Rajnagar police on Friday arrested two persons for attempting to rape and murder a 35-year-old Dalit woman at a Shiva temple in Keredagada village.
They were identified as Chabindra Bindhani (34) and Hagura Mian (32) of Kereragada.
Sources said the woman, a cancer patient, was advised by some priests and her family members to spend the night before Shivratri prostrating on the temple premises to get cured of the disease.
Accordingly, she was observing the ritual on Thursday night.
Finding her alone, three miscreants, including Bindhani and Mian, tried to rape her. When the woman resisted their attempts, they assaulted her and tried to kill her.
However, the three accused fled after she screamed and some locals rushed to the temple.
Rajnagar IIC Tapan Kumar Nayak said the victim lodged an FIR with the police on Friday basing on which the two accused were arrested under Sections 307, 376/511 and 34 of the IPC and Section 3 of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
“We are raiding the hideouts of another accused, identified as Sarbeswar Sutar, to nab him,” Nayak added.