BHUBANESWAR : In a major embarrassment for Congress which is spearheading the fight against growing crime against women in Odisha, state president of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) Udit Pradhan was arrested late on Sunday night on charges of raping a 19-year-old girl in Bhubaneswar.
The incident allegedly took place at a hotel in Mancheswar area of the city on March 18 this year. The victim reportedly came forward to file her complaint with Mancheswar police on Sunday following which Pradhan was arrested. Immediately after his arrest, Pradhan was suspended from NSUI by the Congress.
In her complaint, the victim stated that she and her female friend had come to meet a common male friend on the evening of March 18. They were in his car when Pradhan joined them at the Station Square. He was known to their male friend.
Pradhan then allegedly took the trio to a hotel in Mancheswar and started consuming alcohol. He allegedly spiked her cold drinks after which she became unconscious for around 30 minutes. After gaining consciousness, she realised that she had been sexually assaulted.
Additional commissioner of police (ACP) Biswaranjan Senapati told mediapersons that though the alleged incident had taken place four months back, the victim could not gather courage to file a complaint as she was threatened of dire consequences by the accused.
Senapati said the victim has written in her complaint that as the state government and police have begun to act seriously on crime against women, she decided to file a complaint against Pradhan.