Ex-hockey coach among 3 arrested for gang-rape of 15-year-old girl in Odisha

Jajpur Town Inspector in charge Sarat Patra said a case was registered after receiving a formal complaint about the gang-rape.

Published on: Jul 22, 2025, 20:01:42 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: Three persons, including a former hockey coach, were arrested in Odisha’s Jajpur district on Tuesday in connection with the gang-rape of an athlete on July 3, police said.

Police said the three suspects have been arrested (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Jajpur superintendent of police (SP) Yashpratap Shrimal said Jajpur Town police arrested Sarthak Mohanty, a former coach at the Naval Tata hockey stadium in Jajpur, and his two associates, Sandip Swain and Sidharth Rout, over allegations they raped a 15-year-old girl who trained at the stadium.

The teenager filed a formal complaint about the gang rape on July 3 on Sunday night (July 20).

In her complaint, the girl said Mohanty and his associates abducted her when she was on her way home from the stadium after completing her training for the day. They allegedly took her to a lodge and took turns to sexually assault her. The girl said she did not file a complaint earlier because the accused had threatened to harm her and her family.

The girl’s mother initially lodged a complaint with the district sports officer about the incident on July 16, alleging that one of the hockey coaches had been harassing her daughter for the past six months and that he had raped her

Jajpur Town Inspector in charge Sarat Patra said a case was registered after receiving a formal complaint about the incident.

The hockey stadium was constructed by the state sports department in 2023 and has a capacity of 2,500 people.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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