Keonjhar: Police have arrested four persons for the alleged gangrape and murder of a 17 year-old girl, who was found hanging from a tree in Odisha’s Keonjhar district on Tuesday.
The arrests were made on Thursday following a complaint by the father of the deceased and prima facie evidence. One among the accused knew the victim, police said.
The young girl’s body was found hanging from a tree on Tuesday morning at Tentlapashi village under Pandapada police limits. The victim had gone missing the previous evening and the family reported the matter to police. Later, her body was found hanging from a tree in a paddy field near the house.
Following which, a case of gangrape and murder under Sections 70(2), 103(1) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 4(2)/6 of the POCSO Act was registered at Pandapada police station.
This incident was reported a day after the gang-rape of a college student in Odisha’s Gopalpur on Sunday, which led to a nationwide outrage.
On Wednesday, police detained two suspects, including 19-year-old Sagar Nayak from Badakamandra village, believed to be the main perpetrator. Sagar was reportedly in a relationship with the minor girl for over a month. His mobile phone and clothes were seized from near the crime scene.
Keonjhar SP Kusalkar Nitin Dagudu said that the girl’s father identified him as the primary offender, along with three accomplices aged 19, 27, and 42, all from the district. He added that DNA samples from the accused have been collected for profiling.
