Gopalpur gangrape case: Crime Branch begins probe

Berhampur: Crime Branch Wednesday launched an investigation into the gangrape of a 20-year-old woman at Gopalpur Beach in Odisha’s Ganjam district.

A team of officials visited Gopalpur Beach and launched a detailed investigation into the gangrape case. The incident took place when the survivor had gone to the beach with her male friend.

Police have arrested 10 persons, including four minors, in this connection Tuesday.

The adult accused were identified as Pramod Kumar Nayak, 23, of Hundata village under Purushottampur police limits, Baburam Dalei, 23, Lakhsman Pradhan, 24, of Burupada village, Kunal Pradhan, 24, of Patapur village under Hinjili police limits, their associates Om Pradhan, 24, and Deepak Tarai, 19, of Sikiri village under Hinjili police limits.

Pramod, the prime accused, is a history-sheeter and carries cases of attempted murder and bomb-making in his name. He committed the crime when he had come home from Bengaluru on holiday.

Four minor boys have also been detained by police in this connection. The accused were produced in the court and remanded to judicial custody, while the minors were produced before a Juvenile Justice Board. Three two-wheelers and eight mobile phones were seized from their possession.

Three of the 10-member group raped the girl while the rest seven beat up the male friend of the survivor and held him hostage, police said. The survivor hailing from outside the district is a student of Plus III final year in a local college.

This was stated by Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M at a presser organised at Gopalpur police station Tuesday. The Juvenile Justice Board will be requested to treat the four minor accused as adults during the trial in view of the heinous crime, as they have attained the age of 17, the SP said.

Police said that the prime accused, Pramod and his friends visited Gopalpur beach and took a bath in the sea. They soon went up to a deserted place and sat there. The survivor and her male friend visited the beach Sunday evening and also sat at a deserted place at some distance from the group of accused.

Seven of the accused then went near the survivor and beat up her male friend while Pramod, Baburam and Kunal dragged the girl and took turns to rape her. They threatened to make a video of her rape and make it viral and extracted Rs 1,000 from the survivor’s male friend and also some money through the payment app PhonePe.

The survivor and her male friend visited the Gopalpur police station and informed the police. Police IIC Prasant Kumar Mallick and his team immediately raided various places and picked up seven persons for interrogation. Three other police teams were formed and the remaining three accused were arrested, he stated, adding that two of them were trying to flee to Bangalore and Surat when police nabbed them.

PNN & Agencies

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