Two brothers have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 15-year-old girl and then attempting to bury her alive after she became pregnant in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur, a police official said.
The complaint registered by the victim's father at Kujang police station showed Bhagyadhar Das (60) and Panchanan Das (58) allegedly raped the minor for last one year, a report in PTI said.
The accused brothers were working at a mutt (ashram), which the minor frequently visits, the police said.
The accused raped the minor multiple times over a year. Upon discovering her pregnancy, the two allegedly attempted to bury her alive to hide the crime, NDTV reported.
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Police said a third suspect was also involved in the crime and a manhunt is underway to nab him.
Tirtol SDPO Chinmay Raut said that the two brothers were arrested on Thursday, while a third accused was absconding.
{{/usCountry}}Tirtol SDPO Chinmay Raut said that the two brothers were arrested on Thursday, while a third accused was absconding.
{{/usCountry}}The father also alleged that, although he reported the matter to a local panchayat functionary, the latter offered him money to suppress the incident and even threatened him if he reported the case to the police.
BJD leader booked for rape
A Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader in Bhubaneswar was booked on Thursday for raping a girl and allegedly forcing her to terminate her pregnancy, police said. The survivor, who is now 19, is undergoing medical examination at the Capital Hospital in the Odisha capital.
Also Read: Odisha: Two brothers, aged 60 and 58, arrested for raping 15-yr-old for a year
The victim alleged that Amaresh Jena, a Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation corporator, built a physical relationship with her under the "false promise" of marriage and made her pregnant when she was a minor, PTI reported.
The girl said that she met Jena for the first time in June 2023 and their friendship grew after that, Times of India reported.
She also accused the corporator of forcing her to terminate the pregnancy in February last year. He had promised her marriage after getting a divorce from his wife.
"When I asked him to marry me, he threatened and asked me to leave Bhubaneswar," the victim claimed. A case has been filed against the leader at the Laxmisagar police station. However, he is yet to be arrested. The BJD didn't respond to the incident.