Child rights body asks police to immeditely arrest the accused in the gangrape of minor girl

The OSCPCR action came ten days after the mother of the 13-year-old alleged rape victim lodged a complaint with the Mahila police station here. Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner of police, U S Dash had announced that a police team had been formed to apprehjend the accused persons - two staff members of the private news channel, one police man, his two friends and two private security guards.

Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) Thursday asked the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack police commssionerate to immediately arrest the accused in the gangrape of a minor girl in the city during the lockdown and submit an action taken report (ATR). The Commission chief Sandhyabati Pradhan also directed the police to initiate action against officials of a private TV news channel for allegedly trying to suppress the incident.

The victim's mother works as a receptionist in the private TV news channel and two of her collegaues had allegedly been among those involved in the sordid incident. They had tortured the hapless girl in her home when her mother was working in the office for long hours during the lockdown and her father was in their native place, about 100 km away in Kendrapara.

The two had also allegedly threatened to kill her if she divulged the incident to anyone, the complaint filed by the girl's mother said. A notice has been served to the news channels managing director, the commissionerate police and district collector-cum magistrate of Khurda district under which Bhubaneswar falls.

Pradhan told newsmen that the notice has been served to the managing director of the news channel in response to the complaint lodged by the victim's mother. The OSCPCR action came ten days after the mother of the 13-year-old alleged rape victim lodged a complaint with the Mahila police station here.

Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner of police, U S Dash had announced that a police team had been formed to apprehjend the accused persons - two staff members of the private news channel, one police man, his two friends and two private security guards. The two employees of the TV channel are absconding since the woman lodged her complaint with the police in which she had also said that the incident took place during the March-April lockdown.

The girl mustered courage and spoke to her mother about the incident in April. When the woman confronted the two men in the office, she too was threatened that the girl would be killed, it is alleged. Fearing for their lives, the mother and the daughter fled to their Kendrapara home and returned to the city in August before filing the complaint with the police.

The police is yet to nab any of the accused persons. The Bhubaneswar DCP has formed a special team for investigating the case and handed it over to Investigating Integrative Units for Crime Against Women (IUCAW).

A case has been registered under various sections of IPC and POCSO Act, he said. The girls statement has been recorded both under Section 161 and Section 164 of CrPC and her medical examination conducted.

Her mother Thursday moved the State Commission for Women (SCW) and sought its protection. We have sought a report from the police in regard to the complaint of the woman, said SCW chairperson Minati Behera.