Ganjam: Class XII girl drugged and gang-raped, five youths held
BERHAMPUR: Baidanathpur police on Wednesday arrested five youths for allegedly gang-raping a Class XII girl student after spiking her drink in Ganjam district on May 3.
Police identified the accused as Rutun Das (22), Rudra Jena (21), Abhilash Polai (19), Akash Nayak (26) and Sambit Panigrahi (21), all hailing from different places in Ganjam. All the five accused are students - two engineering, as many BCA and one pharmacy.
Berhampur SP Sarthak Sarangi said the shocking incident took place on May 3 but the rape survivor’s parents lodged a complaint with police on May 5.
According to the complaint, the girl, a Class XII student of a private college in Berhampur, had gone to a friend’s house for some work in the evening. After meeting her friend, she was waiting for her father at Hillpatana when Rutun, who is known to her, arrived on the spot. He invited her to his house at Bramhanagar 2nd lane with an assurance to call her father to pick her up.
When the girl reached Rutun’s room, she realised that it was a mess for bachelors. But the accused claimed that he was staying with his mother. He offered her a soft drink laced with sedatives and left the room on the pretext of calling his mother. Subsequently, she lost control of her senses and five to six youths allegedly assaulted her sexually.
The SP said the accused took turns to rape her till 10 pm in the night. Though the girl was awake, she was unable to move due to the effects of the sedative-laced drink. By the time, she regained her senses, Rutun reportedly threatened to kill her if she disclosed the matter to anyone. Later, Rutun and one of his friends took the girl on a motorcycle and dropped her at Bijipur.
On reaching home, the girl narrated her ordeal to her parents. However, her parents lodged a complaint with police after two days. Basing on the complaint, police registered a case and sent the girl for medical examination. As part of the investigation, a police team reached the crime scene and detained eight youths.
“During interrogation, five of them confessed to their crime. They were subsequently arrested and produced in court. The victim’s condition is stable and her statement has been recorded before the magistrate. Investigation is underway to ascertain if anyone else is involved in the crime,” Sarangi added.