BHUBANESWAR: In a horrific incident, a minor girl was allegedly gangraped by four youths in the capital after one of the accused spiked her drink. The accused also recorded a video of the gruesome crime to extort money from the victim and her family.
Police on Thursday arrested the four accused, identified as Raja Pattnaik (19) of Daruthenga, Deepak Behera (19) of Niladri Vihar, Prakash Behera (21) of Sailashree Vihar, and Papu Dwivedi (23) of Old Town.
A minor girl, who had befriended the victim with the promise of providing her a job, has also been detained for allegedly assisting the accused. According to police, she introduced the victim to Raja earlier this month.
Raja developed a friendship with the victim and met her in a park in the city on 16 October, where he allegedly spiked her cold drink. He then took the unconscious minor to a hotel, where he and his three associates reportedly gangraped her. When the victim regained consciousness, the accused threatened to make the video of the assault viral.
Police reported that the accused extorted ₹12,000 from the victim and ₹50,000 from her mother. The victim, initially apprehensive about filing acomplaint out of fear that the video would be released, approached the Nayapalli police on 30 October. A case was registered the same day.
"As it was a very sensitive incident, a special team was formed and the accused were nabbed within 24 hours. Further investigation is continuing," said DCP Pinak Mishra.
Police have assured that further details of the case will emerge as the investigation progresses.