Speech-impaired minor girl raped repeatedly in Odisha hospital

The accused was caught after the survivor was found to be pregnant in a medical examination, done after she reported sickness.

Updated on: Jan 20, 2021, 09:42:17 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty | Edited by Abhinav Sahay, Bhubaneswar

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A youth, who allegedly raped and impregnated a 14-year-old speech-impaired girl, who was attending to her ailing brother in a government hospital in Odisha’s Bolangir district, has been detained by the police.

The survivor did not reveal the crime since she was facing threats from the accused (Representative Photo)

Police officials said that the survivor had come to the Titlagarh sub-divisional hospital in September last year with her family for treatment of her 10-year-old brother in the paediatric ward of the hospital. While she stayed with her brother as an attendant, a worker of the Aahaar Centre (a government-run subsidised meal outlet) raped her repeatedly. The youth used to bring food for the family from the Aahaar centre.

The youth had warned the girl of dire consequences if she revealed his crime, said Titlagarh sub-divisional police officer SN Satpathy.

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The crime came to light after the girl’s medical examination revealed she was pregnant. Though she suffers from mild speech impairment, she was able to convey that the worker of the Aahaar centre had raped her repeatedly, which led to his detention.

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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