Bhubaneswar: The minor girl, who went missing while visiting a friend’s house for a birthday celebration on Monday evening in Odisha’s Malkangiri, was allegedly gangraped by three men and again sexually abused by a truck driver.
Addressing a presser, Malkangiri SP Vinodh Patil H on Tuesday said that all four accused, including the truck driver, were arrested within six hours of receiving the complaint. “Two cases were registered in connection with the incident. The truck driver took the girl to a forested area about 10-15 km from Malkangiri and raped her there. The three other accused had gangraped the girl within Town police limits,” he said.
The four were arrested on the basis of the survivor’s statement.
According to sources, family members could not trace her despite frantic efforts. Following which, they lodged a missing person’s complaint at Adarsh police station. Later that night, locals spotted her in a suspicious situation with a truck driver near National Highway 326 at Bija Ghati and alerted police, who then rescued the girl and placed her in the care of Shakti Sadan, a government-run shelter home in Malkangiri town.
The truck driver has been identified as Shubham Singh (26), a resident of Madhya Pradesh. The truck was transporting cement and was en route to Jeypore in Koraput district. The three other accused are said to be residents of the town.
Earlier, Opposition BJD and Congress leaders had visited the police station, demanding immediate arrest of the accused persons.