BERHAMPUR: A 36-year-old man who brutally assaulted a young woman for rejecting his romantic advances in Ganjam’s Jarada area has been arrested, police said on Thursday.
The accused, Manoj Das of Cuttack, had reportedly attacked the 21-year-old victim with a knife at her home on March 21, leaving her critically injured. He was nabbed from Pune with the help of the local police, said Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M.
Following the attack, the victim’s father Kari Damburu (50) of Solabhagapentha village lodged a complaint against the accused with Jarada police. Acting on it, police registered a case and and launched a probe. Investigation revealed that while working in a prawn processing unit at Ongole in Andhra Pradesh, Manoj came in contact with the victim and allegedly proposed marriage. The victim declined his proposal after learning that he was already married.
However, the accused continued to maintain contact with the victim and became enraged after coming to know about her impending marriage. On March 20, he reportedly reached the woman’s village on a motorcycle and the next day, allegedly assaulted her with a knife multiple times when she was alone at her home, said police.
The victim sustained grievous injuries and was initially admitted to Patrapur hospital. She was later shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.
Police formed special teams and carried out raids in Kandhamal, Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Bhubaneswar to nab the accused. Based on further leads, police teams were also sent to Srinagar and Pune.
The SP said Manoj was apprehended from Pune on April 12 night and produced before the JMFC Lashkar court in Wanawadi. He was brought to Odisha on transit remand and produced in JMFC court at Patrapur on Thursday.