Bhubaneswar: Corporator from ward no- 45 in Bhubaneswar, Amaresh Jena, on Sunday claimed that he has been falsely implicated in the rape case by Archana Nag, the key accused in an alleged high-profile honeytrap case that rocked Odisha in 2022.
He made these allegations while being forwarded to court after a medical examination at Capital Hospital here.
Jena, who had been absconding since the rape case was registered against him on July 23, was apprehended from a house in Kalakada under Nilagiri block in Balasore district this morning.
His wife had earlier told the media that he was a victim of a political conspiracy. She also claimed that he was not absconding and had himself called the police to surrender. “I was called to the police station where cops told me to ask him to surrender. He was travelling when the incident was reported and was unable to return. We belong to a family of lawyers and have full faith in the judiciary. People will soon get to know the truth,” she added.
Earlier in month, Archana held a press briefing in which she claimed that BJD leaders Bobby Das, Manas Mangaraj, and Amaresh Jena had plotted to frame her by bribing the original complainant.
THE RAPE CASE
On July 23, a 19-year-old woman filed a complaint at Laxmisagar police station, accusing Jena of sexually exploiting her since September 2023, when she was still a minor, on the pretext of marriage. The survivor further alleged that the corporator coerced her into aborting a two-month pregnancy in February 2024, promising that he would marry her after getting a divorce from his wife. He, however, began avoiding her from April this year and also threatened to kill her unless she left the city.
While Jena refuted the allegations, the girl had threatened self-immolation if no action was taken on her complaint.
The corporator, who was suspended from the BJD following his arrest, has been booked under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including repeated rape, forced miscarriage, public obscenity, and criminal intimidation. He also faces charges under Section 6 of the POCSO Act for aggravated sexual assault of a minor.
