Odisha rape accused absconding for 2 years arrested from vaccination centre

Podha in March 2019 was accused of raping a 20-year-old girl. However, the local police could not trace him as he fled to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

Published on: Jun 27, 2021, 18:57:06 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A 24-year-old man in the western Odisha district of Bolangir who was accused of rape and has been absconding for more than 2 years now, landed in the police net while he was waiting to take his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Arun Podha of Bhainsar village who was accused of rape since March 2019 had queued up at a Covid-19 vaccination centre under Patnagarh police station on Saturday when he was nabbed. (HT FILE PHOTO.)

According to the police, Arun Podha of Bhainsar village who was accused of rape since March 2019 had queued up at a Covid-19 vaccination centre under Patnagarh police station on Saturday when a waiting police team arrested him.

Podha in March 2019 was accused of raping a 20-year-old girl. However, the local police could not trace him as he fled to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

“We had got information a few days ago that he had come to his house after lockdown and we raided it, but he escaped. Then we got another tip-off that he would be coming to take the Covid-19 vaccine and waited. He was arrested soon after taking the jab,” said Patnagarh sub-divisional police officer Jyotirmay Bhukta.

The family of the accused had tried to influence the victim, but did not succeed.

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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