KENDRAPARA: Patkura police on Sunday arrested two journalists on charges of abetting the suicide of a man who was falsely accused of rape.
The accused are Pratik Mishra, reporter of an Odia news channel and Babuli Mallick, the editor of YouTube channel ‘Suchana’.
Police said on Thursday, Banshidhar Mishra (50) of Pakhada village hanged himself to death two days after being accused of rape by a woman. A suicide note was recovered from his possession in which he alleged that Pratik, Babuli and one Damayanti Pani (31) were responsible for his death.
Banshidhar claimed the accused duo demanded Rs 1 lakh from him as extortion. When he refused to pay the money, they told Damayanti to file a fake rape case against him. On Tuesday, Damayanti lodged a complaint accusing Banshidhar of raping her in a house in 2020. Subsequently, Pratik and Babuli spread false information about the rape through their news outlets and social media platforms. On Friday, Banshidhar’s wife Gayatri filed a complaint alleging that her husband took the extreme step after being falsely implicated in the rape case and was mentally harassed by the three accused.
Patkura IIC Mohammad Jamshed said basing on the complaint, police launched an investigation and arrested Pratik and Babuli under sections 308, 107 and 351(2) of the BNS. Preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased was framed in a fake rape case. The arrested duo used to extort money from several people by making such threats.
Jamshed said the accused were produced in court and remanded in custody. The third accused Damayanti is on the run. “We are raiding the woman’s hideouts to nab her. Further investigation is underway.”