KENDRAPARA: Kendrapara Sadar police on Tuesday arrested two youths on charges of gang-raping a 22-year-old married woman after luring her with the promise of a job.
The accused are Laxman Mallick (27) of Kanipada village and Satyapriya Jena (29) of Kusiapala.
According to police, the woman’s husband has been working as a construction labourer in Bengaluru for the past four months, leaving her with their two-year-old daughter at home. During this period, she became acquainted with her neighbour Laxman who allegedly assured her of employment in a factory and asked her to accompany him to Kusiapala village, promising that she would be paid for the work.
Police said when the woman reached Kusiapala on July 3 night, Satyapriya reportedly arranged accommodation for her in a house. The two accused allegedly confined her in a room and gang-raped her multiple times between July 3 and 11 while threatening her with dire consequences.
When the woman did not return home, her mother lodged a missing complaint in Kendrapara Sadar police station on July 11. Acting on the complaint, police launched an investigation and rescued the woman from Kusiapala on July 12, said IIC Padmalaya Pradhan.
Following her rescue, the woman filed a complaint with the police alleging that the two accused repeatedly raped her, recorded explicit videos of her, and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident to anyone. She also alleged that the accused threatened to circulate her private photographs and videos on social media.
The IIC said basing on the complaint, police registered a case and arrested the accused under relevant provisions of the BNS including sections 64(2)(m), 70, 76, 115(2) and 351(3).
Medical examination of the woman and the accused was conducted at the district headquarters hospital on the day. The accused duo was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody, Pradhan added.
