Odisha boys rape 12-year-old girl, upload video on social media; 3 held

The accused raped the 12-year-old girl and blackmailed her by threatening to make the rape video public if she did not pay them ₹20,000.

Three minor boys, including an engineering diploma student, were arrested on the charge of raping a 12-year-old girl and uploading a video of the act on social media platforms in Odisha’s Jajpur district, police said on Sunday.

The survivor did not report the matter to her parents till a video of the incident went viral on social media platforms. (Representative Image)

The accused, all in the age group of 14-17, and the victim live in the same village under Jenapur police station area of the district.

Though the incident happened a few days ago, the survivor did not report the matter to her parents till a video of the incident went viral on social media platforms. A relative of the victim saw the video and told her father about it. When the father questioned his daughter, she told them what they had done. “Following the complaint of the victim’s father, a case was registered under various sections of the IPC, Pocso Act and IT Act against the three boys,” said Jenapur police station inspector Umakanta Nayak.

Police said after sexually assaulting the girl, the accused started blackmailing the minor girl using the video clip and threatened to make it public if she did not pay them ₹20,000. But when the victim refused, they posted the video on social media platforms which went viral last week.

All the accused were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and remanded to correctional homes.