BHUBANESWAR: Commissionerate Police on Monday arrested a 36-year-old man for allegedly raping a 23-year-old woman at a hotel near Pipili on the pretext of helping her in a job matter.
The accused Himansu Samal alias Jitu of Kula Haripur village under Badachana block of Jajpur district was arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim on June 7.
Though the incident occurred within Pipili police limits of Puri, the Commissionerate Police adopted a humane approach and registered an FIR with Dhauli police station, instead of registering a zero FIR or asking the survivor to approach Pipili police.
Police said the survivor’s mother worked as a cook in Bharatpur area of Bhubaneswar and knew Samal. She had reportedly shared his contact number with her daughter for assistance in connection with a financial transaction linked to a job arrangement.
According to police, the woman had allegedly paid Rs 30,000 to a person for securing a job. However, the said person later transferred Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh to her bank account. Worried over such a huge transfer, her mother contacted Samal who allegedly assured them that he would handle the situation if any police inquiry arose.
On June 5, the woman received a call from an unknown number with picture of a police officer on the display. Alarmed by the call, she reportedly contacted Samal, who informed her that the call had originated from Dhauli police station.
Acting on his advice, the woman travelled from Jayadev Vihar to Dhauli the next day, from where the accused took her to OYO Dhauli Palace located under Pipili police limits. After checking into the hotel in the evening, Samal left briefly on the pretext of meeting police.
However, when he came back to the hotel in the night, he informed the woman that they would meet an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) the next morning, and persuaded her to stay overnight despite her request to return to her hostel.
The woman alleged that during the night, Samal asked her to pose as his wife or girlfriend and forced her to take photographs and videos with him portraying as a couple. She claimed that Samal subsequently raped her and even threatened her with adverse consequences, if she tried to leave or inform about it to anyone.
The matter came to light when the survivor narrated the entire incident to her mother on June 7.
Based on her complaint, an FIR was registered. Further investigation is on, police said.
