Odisha police announced on Thursday the arrest of four individuals accused of the gang rape and murder of a minor tribal girl in a village in Keonjhar. According to the police, one of the suspects was known to the victim.
The case has been filed against the accused under various provisions including section 70(2) (gang rape), 103(1) (murder), and 49 (incitement) of the Indian Penal Code, along with the POCSO Act and related sections of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The incident took place within the jurisdiction of the Pandapara police station on June 16th. The day after the crime, villagers found the 17-year-old girl’s body hanging from a tree. The family reported her missing after she left home for the restroom and later accused that she had been gang-raped and killed.
Authorities discovered bloodstained clothes and other evidence at the site where the body was found. The girl's father alleged in his complaint that she was gang-raped, murdered, and then hanged to make it appear as suicide. Initially, police detained two individuals under suspicion. However, after preliminary investigations, four individuals were arrested. Inspector in-Charge of Pandapara, Laxmikant Pradhan, stated, "We are investigating the incident from all angles. The post-mortem will reveal whether it was indeed a case of gang rape."
