ROURKELA: In a shocking incident, a minor girl was kidnapped and gang-raped by three persons - one of them reportedly a juvenile - in a forest under Talsara police limits, about 130 km from Rourkela, in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.
The three suspects were detained in the morning and allegedly confessed to the crime, police said.
The victim, about 15, was returning home from a neighbouring village along with her two friends when she was kidnapped in an SUV by the accused and subjected to the sexual assault. After committing the crime, the three dropped off the victim at a secluded location and fled. Police did not reveal the crime location but said the 15-year-old was kidnapped from a village road.
Sundargarh SP Pratyush Diwaker said Talsara police received verbal information in the morning, swung into action and rounded up the suspects immediately.
As per preliminary report, the three girls were walking back home from a function at a nearby village late in the night when they noticed a four-wheeler tailing them. Diwaker said, the girls were scared and tried to hide when they saw two youths familiar to them on a motorbike. They asked for help and all five tried to ride away on the two-wheeler but the miscreants, driving a Bolero, intercepted them.
The bike-borne youths and two girls managed to escape but the victim was caught hold of by the miscreants who bundled her into the four-wheeler. Subsequently, she was assaulted at a nearby forest location.
“After the incident was verbally reported in the morning, Talsara police acted swiftly and arrested the three culprits from Sundargarh town,” Diwaker said, adding the suspects also confessed to the crime. The SP said the victim is in sound health and lodged a complaint.
While two of the suspects are adult, the third claimed himself to be 17-year-old. Police said, verification of the juvenile’s age is underway. The victim was sent for medical examination.
Sundargarh SDPO Nirmal Mohapatra said the three suspects have past antecedents.