DHENKANAL: Dhenkanal police on Sunday arrested three more accused from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in connection with the trafficking and prolonged sexual assault of a minor girl from Kamakhyanagar in Jhansi, taking the total number of arrests in the case to five.
The accused are Mangal Kushwaha (56), Param Lal Kushwaha (64), and Kalpana Patra (38). Kamakhyanagar IIC Jitendra Mallick said that Mangal and Param were apprehended from Jhansi district, while Kalpana was arrested from Niari district in Madhya Pradesh by a police team.
Earlier, the prime accused, Chandrapal Kushwah, and the local middleman, Binay Patra, were arrested by the police. Police said that Binay lured the 17-year-old survivor from her village in Kamakhyanagar with the promise of a job and took her to Madhya Pradesh via Bhubaneswar in December 2024. There, he handed her over to Kalpana, a resident of Kankadahad, who lived in Madhya Pradesh. Kalpana then sold the girl to Chandrapal Kushwah in Patha village under Erach police limits in Jhansi district.
The survivor’s complaint further revealed that not only did Chandrapal marry her in 2024, but his two uncles, Mangal and Param, also sexually assaulted her repeatedly over a period of more than a year. Police confirmed that the arrests of Mangal and Param were made based on these allegations. She endured severe trauma at Chandrapal’s house, where she was subjected to repeated sexual abuse.
The survivor arrived in Kamakhyanagar on May 19 and lodged a complaint. Although she had also alleged the involvement of one Ashish Yadav, who she claimed had taken her from Bhubaneswar and raped her before selling her to Chandrapal, police said they found no evidence to substantiate the claims against Ashish or his family.
