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Dhauli gang rape case to be tried by fast-track court for swift justice: Odisha minister
Police said two persons have been arrested in connection with the girl’s gang rape but the prime accused was still on the run
The Odisha government may assign the trial of the Dhauli gang rape case to a fast-track court for swift justice, state law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said on Tuesday.
“The government will take appropriate action in the Dhauli gang-rape case. We are considering fast-track court proceedings for swift justice,” Harichandan said.
Two persons, Bibhu Prasad Mishra from Banki and Kalandi Patra from Olatpur, have been arrested for the gang rape of a 17-year-old student on December 10. A third person, described by the police as the prime accused, is on the run.
The rape survivor was with a male friend at the Daya riverbank in the Dhauli area, on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, on December 10, when the incident occurred. Police said the accused accosted the couple and initially demanded money from them. When the teenager refused, he was dragged away and attacked. The girl tried to come to his rescue and was brutally attacked by the accused, who tore her clothes and raped her. They also recorded the crime on mobile phones and threatened to release it if she complained.
Police said the girl initially filed a complaint alleging that her chain and other valuables were snatched. But she later told her mother about the gang rape. The family filed a gang rape case on December 13.
In a post on X, 2015-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Aboli Sunil Naravane described the incident as a disturbing reminder of continuing crimes against women. “While we are struggling to come to terms with what happened to a braveheart in a moving bus in the country’s capital exactly 13 years ago, a chilling reminder that not much has changed,” she said.
The Opposition has also attacked the Mohan Majhi government over the gruesome crime.
“Criminals are fearless, the government is losing credibility. How much more does the law and order situation in the state have to deteriorate before the government wakes up? The government’s incompetence in preventing crime is instilling fear in the general public,” former chief minister Naveen Patnaik said in a post on X.
Patnaik said the BJP government had failed to ensure a safe environment for women in the state capital, exposing its “gross negligence and insensitive conduct”. “It should be proactive in preventing such incidents beforehand, not just after they occur,” he added.
