CUTTACK: In a shocking incident, a 26-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped in a car by a group of men at an isolated place along the Cuttack-Chandbali State Highway, about 45 km from Cuttack, in the early hours of Wednesday.
Two suspects have been detained by police. The incident took place near Aenda under Nischintakoili police limits around 3 am.
The survivor, who works at a mall in Bhubaneswar, was returning home to Kendrapara with her boyfriend when the two were allegedly abducted in their vehicle by a group of more than five men, police said. The accused were allegedly drunk.
According to the initial investigation, the couple, while travelling on the Cuttack-Chandbali highway, stopped near a petrol pump to rest. Since the woman’s boyfriend, a driver by profession, had returned from Koraput and was exhausted after the long drive, he wanted to catch some sleep inside the car.
However, their rest turned into a nightmare when a group of five to six youths allegedly approached the vehicle and started banging on it. When the couple did not open the doors, the accused allegedly smashed the window panes with an iron rod and entered the vehicle, the complainant said.
“The accused assaulted the male friend mercilessly with an iron rod and plastic pipes. One of them then drove the car for about 4 km to an open and isolated field at Aenda, where they threw the man out and allegedly gang-raped the woman inside the vehicle,” said Salepur SDPO Biranchi Narayan Pati, quoting the complaint.
After allegedly committing the crime, one of the accused drove the couple to Katikata. The injured man then gathered courage and tried to overpower him. The tussle attracted the attention of some locals, who rushed to the spot, following which the accused fled.
Police reached the spot and took the duo to the police station. Based on the survivor’s complaint, a gang-rape case was registered and multiple teams were formed to nab the accused.
“Two suspects are being interrogated in connection with the incident. We are hopeful of apprehending all the accused persons soon,” said Pati.
This is the second gang-rape to have been reported in a week. On August 5, a 19-year-old part-time model was gang-raped near a forest between Jeypore and Koraput.
