Odisha girl “sexually assaulted” by 3 men, including her minor ‘boyfriend,’ during ‘Karam' festival

Bhubaneswar: A young girl in Odisha’s Sundergarh district has reportedly been “sexually assaulted” by three local men.

According to the reports, the three accused waylaid the victim while she was returning from ‘Karam’ festival, a major local cultural event, and took turns to abuse her.

What is more shocking is that two of the accused are minors. One of the accused is said to be the girl's 'boyfriend.' However, he was joined by two of his friends who “abused” her and fled away after committing the heinous crime, sources said.

The heinous crime was reported from Kutra area under Rajgangpur in the tribal-dominated Sundergarh district. The matter came to the fore after the victim with the help of her parents lodged a written complaint with Kutra police.

Based on the victim’s statements, Kutra police have launched a manhunt to nab the accused trio.

According to sources, the incident occurred on September 16 evening. The victim had gone to witness the Karam festival. The accused trio then allegedly waylaid the victim while she was returning home and took her to a secluded place where they took turns on her.

Rajgangpur Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Abhishek Panigrahy said, “This is a sensitive incident, so I don’t want to reveal more details. But, the incident occurred on September 16. Both the accused and the victim party were known to each other.”

“The victim had gone to witness the Karam festival when the accused took her to a place where they gang raped her. The police has detained all those involved in the crime. Further probe into the incident is on,” he added.

“Age verification of the accused is underway and necessary action will be taken after the confirmation of their age,” he further stated.