Odisha police arrested six people and detained four teenagers on Tuesday, who were in connection with the gang rape of a college student in Gopalpur Beach near Berhampur City.
According to the police, the accused traveled to Gopalpur Beach on three motorcycles on Sunday and went to take a dip in the sea. Around 6 o’clock, they reached a separate part of the beach, where college students and a male friend also reached around 6.30 pm.
Around 8 o’clock, the accused people allegedly faced the couple, after which three of them raped the woman, while the other assaulted the man and tied her, the police said.
Although four teenagers were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and the other six accused were produced before a court, Barthampur Superintendent of Police Sarwana Vivek M said that officer would ask JJB to behave as adults to prosecute adolescents as adults.
“This is a heinous crime, and according to the Supreme Court, adolescents over the age of 16 can be tried as adults in a heinous crime case. In this case, all the four teenage accused are 17 years old. Therefore, we will pray to treat them as adults before JJB. We believe that the juvenile board will consider our petition.” The Indian Express,
When adolescents are tried as adults, they are subjected to adults as criminal laws and procedures and if convicted, they may face harsh punishment and prolonged sentences, if they were tried as a teenager.
The police have called 23 -year -old Pramod Nayak, who is from a nearby city and works in a factory in Bangalore, from where he returned home on leave as the main accused.
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According to police investigation, the accused also demanded money from the male friend of the woman, which he had allegedly captive. The police have found evidence that the accused took money from them in cash and through a UPI transaction, Barahampur SP said.
Following a complaint by the survivor on Monday, a case was registered at the Gopalpur police station under the Indian Joint Code (BNS) Section 70 (1) (Gangrep), 296 (obscene acts and songs), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation) and 310 (2) and 310 (2) (robbery crime).
The Gopalpur police has already conducted a medical test of the survivor and recorded the statements of him and his friend. Police said that scientific evidence has also been collected from the crime site.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken the Suo Motu Cognizance of the case and asked the Odisha Police Chief to “”.Intense And from time to time investigation ”. It has also sought a report of an action within three days.
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The incident has triggered a major political storm, in which the opposition BJD and the Congress have carried forward their attack on the BJP government that what they said was the deteriorating law and order situation in Odisha.
Leader of opposition and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that the incident was deeply shocking and shaken everyone in one of the major tourist destinations of Odisha. Expressing concern over the safety of women in tourism areas, Patnaik urged the government to be cautious in stopping “growing atrocities against women every day”.
Odisha in-charge of All India Congress Committee, Ajay Kumar Lallu said that the incident of Gopalpur beach has shaken the whole country. He said that the situation of law and order in the state has collapsed.
Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida said that he has spoken to the SP about the incident and has asked for a complete investigation. He also said that he called for all the necessary steps to ensure that such incidents should not happen in future.
Rape (T) Naveen Patnaik response (T) Odisha crime against women
