Police in Odisha’s Kendrapara district have detained five people in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a 15-year-old girl. One of the accused is a close relative of the victim, according to authorities.
The incident was reported to the Rajnagar Police Station on Monday by the victim, a 10th-standard student. In her complaint, she alleges that on August 9, her relative visited her home for Raksha Bandhan and persuaded her to accompany him to a nearby temple. But had taken her to the crime site, the officer said, citing the complaint.
Also read: Odisha reports fourth woman burn death case in a month
The minor also alleged that four others, who were near the place, raped her, he said. "It seemed that the crime was pre-planned and the relative of the girl was the main accused," police said.
"The accused threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed the rape incident to her family. All five accused have been detained. They are being quizzed. The complainant and the accused persons will be medically examined. Investigation is underway," the officer added.
Meanwhile, the leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday accused the state's Bharatiya Janata Party government of failing to create confidence in the system, which led to the deaths of four women who immolated themselves over various issues in the last one month.
The Biju Janata Dal supremo's reaction came a day after a 13-year-old school-going girl died after allegedly immolating herself in Bargarh district.
"These four deaths are not stray cases— there are many such girls who are dying in the most tragic way possible after being subjected to crime every day. Their desperation is not just personal tragedy. Each tragedy reflects the failure to hear their screams. The BJP administration is failing to create confidence in the system where our daughters feel safe, valued and heard," Patnaik said in a post on social media.
A 20-year-old female student of a college in Balasore in northern Odisha immolated herself on July 12 after no action was allegedly taken over her sexual harassment complaint against her professor. A 15-year-old girl suffered burn injuries in Balanga in coastal Odisha's Puri district. She died while undergoing treatment at AIIMS-Delhi on August 2. In another incident, a female college student died after she allegedly immolated herself on August 6, at her house in Kendrapara district following her former boyfriend's threat to upload her intimate photographs on social media. Her father claimed that police had refused to lodge an FIR over harassment around six months ago. The latest incident took place in Bargarh district in the western region on Monday as a 13-year-old girl immolated herself, and later succumbed to her injuries.
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