BARIPADA: Three days after two minor tribal girls were allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of nine persons in Mayurbhanj district’s Rashgobindpur, police on Saturday arrested three of the accused.
A search is on for six other accused who are involved in the crime. Police said, the incident took place on Wednesday (October 22) under Rashgobindpur police limits when the survivors were returning to their village with two friends on their motorcycles after watching a jatra performance.
Police said, they were intercepted by nine persons, who were also travelling in the same direction. While some of the accused assaulted the two friends accompanying the minors, the others took the girls to an isolated location and sexually assaulted them. The accused also threatened the survivors not to disclose the incident to anyone. By the time their friends reached the spot, the accused had already fled.
The survivors later narrated their ordeal to their parents after reaching home and identified the accused as residents of Purnachandrapur village under Rashgobindpur police limits. A meeting was convened in the village to discuss the matter on Thursday morning, and the accused were summoned. However, after several hours of discussion, no resolution was reached. The survivors’ parents were then compelled to seek police intervention and file a complaint on Friday, demanding action against the accused.
Betnoti SDPO Minati Biswal said three persons, including a youth were arrested, while a search is on for six other accused involved in the crime. The arrested were produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody as their bail plea was rejected.