Tehelka.com:Gangrape at cop’s residence

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Gangrape at cop’s residence SUDARSHAN CHHOTRAY Koraput The circle inspector took Rajani to his house saying she needed to sign a few documents before she could get a job in the police In a gruesome incident in Nandapur, 60 km from Koraput district headquarters in Orissa, a 30-year-old woman was raped by a police officer and a government doctor on January 9. Rajani Patnaik, a resident of Mohuliput village, was promised a job by Circle Inspector Sourachandra Oddu. She was asked to accompany the inspector and two locals in a police vehicle to Nandapur, about 15 km from Mohuliput, where she was supposed to sign some documents. Rajani was taken to the residence of Oddu on reaching Nandapur at 9.00am. “I was asked to sign on one application and to get three passport-size photos for an appointment in the police special branch. I went to a studio where the owner said the photos would be ready by evening only. In the meantime, the circle inspector asked me to prepare food for five and chicken curry which I did.” Rajani says, narrating the events of that day. “I was also asked to have food. While eating, I was forcefully dragged inside the house and raped by the circle inspector followed by the doctor and Nagu Rao, a local youth,” she says. Rajani was then locked inside the house. Krishna Guntha, who heard her cries for help, collected some locals and broke open the lock. Once freed, she went to Mohuliput, where her husband was frantically looking for her. Scared of further harassment by the police, the couple left for a hiding place deep inside the jungles. Three days later, Arun Bothra, the superintendent of police, who got wind of the incident, sent a team of officials and had a case registered under Section 396(2) against Oddu, Rao and Dr PK Rath of Nandapur government hospital. Oddu and Rao were sent to judicial custody on January 12 after a medical examination of Rajani at the Koraput district government hospital confirmed rape. “The doctor is absconding and the police are still looking for him,” says Bothra. The SP denied that the doctor had taken refuge in an MLA's residence as was alleged by an Oriya daily. Residents of the village said several women were victims of the circle inspector’s high-handedness, but were afraid to lodge complaints. The incident is not the only one of its kind in Koraput. Several people holding high positions in the government have been accused of harassing the tribals.

February 05, 2005