DHENKANAL: In a significant development, Dhenkanal police on Saturday arrested a 46-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh in connection with trafficking and prolonged sexual assault of a minor girl from Kamakhyanagar in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi.
Police said the accused, Binay Patra, acted as a middle-man and took the girl to Bhubaneswar, from where she was later taken to Jhansi. The 17-year-old girl had lodged a complaint with Kamakhyanagar police on May 23 and stated she was confined and sexually assaulted for nearly two years before managing to escape and return to Odisha on May 18.
Binay was working as a security guard in a private firm in Visakhapatnam. A police team, led by inspector Ashish Jena, apprehended him and brought him to Kamakhyanagar on Saturday. Police have also dispatched two teams to Uttar Pradesh to arrest the other accused, who allegedly confined and repeatedly raped the minor girl for nearly two years.
Dhenkanal SP Abhinav Sonkar said the teams are actively working in Uttar Pradesh. He said that he had spoken to Jhansi SP, who has assured full cooperation in the case.
According to the complaint lodged by the survivor, in 2024, Binay lured her from Kamakhyanagar to Bhubaneswar on the pretext of providing her a job. There, she came in contact with one Ashish Jadav from Jhansi, who took her to his house in Utar Pradesh.
She alleged that Ashish repeatedly sexually assaulted her. Ashish’s father Kalyan also raped her for nearly three months, during which she became pregnant. She was then reportedly forced to undergo an abortion, following which Ashish sold her to one Chandrapal Kushwah for Rs 50,000.
Chandrapal then raped her repeatedly while his elder brother and two uncles also sexually assaulted her over the next two years. The survivor alleged that she was kept in confinement and was not allowed to speak to anyone outside the family.
However, earlier this month, she managed to escape from captivity and reached Jhansi, where she lodged a complaint with the help of an advocate. The survivor alleged that instead of initiating action, the Jhansi police arranged a train ticket for her to return to Odisha. Upon reaching Kamakhyanagar on May 18, she lodged a complaint on May 23.
Kamakhyanagar IIC Jitendra Mallick said the accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act and forwarded to court. Further investigation is ongoing.
