Man Killed, Wife & Widow ‘Gang-Raped’ In Kandhamal

Phulbani: Even as rising rape cases involving minor girls have triggered massive outrage across Odisha, another shocking incident has come to the fore in Kandhamal district with the murder of a man and the gang rape of his wife and a widow.

The incident, which reportedly took place on the night of January 26, came into the limelight after the mother of the deceased and the family members of the widow of lodged separate complaints at Baliguda police station on Monday.

Talking to mediapersons on Tuesday, IIC of Baliguda Police Station, Prafulla Behera said that the police have arrested two persons in this connection.

The two accused, Rujit Behera and Arjun Bagh of Nua Sahi village, arrived at the house of Pankaj Bindhani at Drapa Sahi village late on Saturday and had a heated argument with him. Later, the duo, in a fit of rage, attacked him with a log and killed him and dumped the body on the outskirts of the village. They again came to the house of the deceased and gang raped his wife. However, they fled after the children of the victim woke up from their sleep and cried. Not content with their bestial act, the duo, on the way to their village, barged into the house of a widow at Jara Niwas Sahi after breaking open the door and took turns to rape her, the IIC said.

“Police have registered two separate cases and begun investigation into the incident. The interrogation of the two accused is underway to elicit more details from them. Police will conduct the medical examination of the victims and the accused and take appropriate action on the basis of the report,” he pointed out.