Married woman sexual assault in Odisha

Jajpur (Odisha): A married woman was allegedly raped by a worker of the ruling BJD in Jajpur district on the pretext of providing her with a house under a state government scheme, police said.

The incident allegedly took place on January 11 at the BJD block office of Dasarathpur but it came to light after the 32-year-old woman filed an FIR with the police yesterday afternoon, the police said. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case under various sections of IPC against the accused, identified as Chandrakanta Mohapatra, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Jajpur, P K Malha, said.

The medical examination of the woman has been conducted and her statement recorded before a magistrate yesterday, the SDPO said. The woman alleged that the accused, who happens to be the brother of BJD’s Jajpur district unit president, Saroj Mohapatra, raped her on the pretext of providing her with a house under the “Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana”.

According to the complaint filed with Mangalpur police station, Mohapatra called the woman to the party office for completion of some formalities in order to avail the scheme on Thursday night, police said. When she reached the place, Mohapatra called her inside and touched her inappropriately.

As she protested and tried to escape from the spot, he raped her, the woman alleged in her complaint. He had also threatened her of dire consequences if she disclosed the incident to any body, she alleged.

The SDPO said efforts are on to trace the accused who is absconding after the filing of the complaint. Denying the allegation as false and baseless, Saroj Mohapatra claimed that the allegation was part of a conspiracy by political opponents to defame him and the party. Investigation by police is on and the truth would come out soon, he said.

PTI