Minor Odisha Hockey Player Gang-Raped In Jajpur; NSUI Leader Held In Bhubaneswar Rape Case

Bhubaneswar: Two separate rape incidents have rocked Odisha, leaving the family of the victims reeling under the shock and the state in anger and outrage. In one incident, a 15-year-old girl, a hockey trainee, was allegedly gang-raped by her coaches and an associate in Jajpur district. In another incident, the President of the Congress party's student wing in Odisha has been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a 19-year-old girl student at a college in Bhubaneswar.

The Odisha police have registered two separate cases and arrested three accused. One of the accused involved in gangrape of the minor hockey player is on the run, and police are on a manhunt to nab him. 

Jajpur Gangrape Incident

According to ANI reports, the Jajpur incident has left the sports community in shock, after allegations that a minor 150-year-old hockey trainee was raped by her coaches and an associate. The accused have been identified as coaches Sarthak Sidharth Rout and Sandip Swain, while the associate has been identified as Sagar. The accused associate is said to be on the run, and police are searching for him.

According to the FIR, the victim was contacted by Coach Sarthak, who asked her to meet for training, citing a vacancy. When she headed home, the accused allegedly restrained her, forcibly took her to Jyoti Lodge on a motorcycle, and physically assaulted her against her will. On information, the police registered a case under various sections of the BNSS and initiated legal action. The police have arrested Sarthak and Sandip and are searching for Sagar. 

An official stated, "A 15-year-old minor Hockey trainee girl from a minor community was gang raped by her coaches and associates in a lodge in Jajpur. After lodging an FIR by the victim, the Jajpur police arrested two accused coaches, and one of them ran away. The police imposed Sections 70(2), 351(2), 74 (3)(5), and 6 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanghita. The victim girl had been taking training for the last two years."

Bhubaneswar Rape Incident

According to the news agency ANI, in the Bhubaneswar incident, the accused, identified as Udit Pradhan, the President of the Odisha National Students' Union of India (NSUI), allegedly gave an intoxicating substance to the 19-year-old victim in a drink before raping her. The incident reportedly took place in a hotel in Mancheswar in Bhubaneswar on Friday night. The police have registered an FIR and arrested the accused, who is the president of the student wing of the Indian National Congress. 

A police official said, “There has been an allegation by a girl student about giving an intoxicated substance in a drink and then of rape in a hotel against one Udit Pradhan.”

“On the basis of the report submitted by the victim, FIR has been registered at the Mancheswar Police Station and the accused Udit Pradhan has been arrested,” the cop stated. 

The investigation is ongoing in both cases, and further details are awaited. The police are investigating both cases to gather evidence and bring the perpetrators to justice.