Bhawanipatna: A pastor from Themra village under Pastikudi gram panchayat in Odisha’s Kalahandi district has been accused of raping an eight-month pregnant woman after allegedly drugging her husband.
The 20-year-old survivor lodged a complaint at Bhawanipatna Sadar police station alleging that the accused, identified as Jinesh Kumar, invited her and her husband to his residence on August 7 on the pretext of curing her recurring health issues through prayer.
Police sources indicated that the woman had been frequently unwell during her pregnancy, prompting the family to seek the pastor’s help.
According to the complaint, Kumar offered the woman’s husband alcohol that was allegedly mixed with medicine or spiked, causing him to fall unconscious. He then took the woman into another room claiming he would conduct a special prayer and sexually assaulted her. The accused also allegedly threatened to kill the couple if they disclosed the incident. Terrified, the woman and her husband fled the house.
The woman’s family filed the complaint the following day. Police called the survivor for a medical examination and formally registered a case. Kalahandi additional superintendent of police Tara Jasmine Guria confirmed that a case has been registered at Sadar police station and the survivor has been examined by doctors. “The investigation is underway and a team has been formed to arrest the accused. We will arrest him soon,” she said.
SDPO Naresh Pradhan added that the accused pastor is absconding and efforts are on to trace and nab him.