Patnaik seeks immediate action in Koraput gangrape case

BHUBANESWAR: Police have stepped up their probe into the alleged gangrape of a minor girl in Koraput district after Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik directed senior officials to take immediate action against the accused.

A case was registered at the Pottangi police station under IPC sections 376(D) (gangrape), 377 (unnatural offences) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Director General of Police (DGP) R P Sharma said today, adding that the police were looking at all angles.

The incident occurred yesterday near Kunduli when the minor, on her way to school, was waylaid by four men and dragged to a nearby field, where they took turns to rape her, the police said.

The girl had claimed in her statement yesterday that the four accused were in uniform, Koraput Superintendent of Police (SP) Kanwar Vishal Singh said.

The survivor, a resident of Musaguda village and a class 9 student of a local school, was spotted by villagers and rushed to a nearby hospital. After preliminary treatment, she was referred to another hospital at Koraput, the police said.

Denouncing the incident as "inhuman", the chief minister had instructed the DGP to arrest the accused and initiate stern action against them, an official said. Patnaik had also announced free medical treatment for the victim, the official in the Chief Minister's Office said. The DGP said a senior forensic laboratory officer from Behrampur would be joining the investigation to help the police collect possible samples for chemical examinations.

Stating that the episode had to be treated as a "Red Flag" case, the police chief said the Crime Branch would constantly monitor the progress of the investigation.

A team of Crime Branch officials, including specialists, was being sent to Koraput to assist the investigating officers, he added. "All necessary steps are being taken to find out the truth and punish the perpetrators," Sharma said.

Angry villagers had blocked National Highway 26 near Kunduli yesterday, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused. Many villagers alleged that security personnel were involved in the incident.

Asked about the alleged involvement of security personnel in the "ghastly" act, the DGP said different forces such as the BSF, CRPF and COBRA operated in Koraput, adding that Naxals could also camouflage themselves in combat uniform.

A senior police official said the incident was discussed with the officers of the BSF, CRPF and COBRA but they denied any movement of their forces in that area on Tuesday. However, the probe would look into all the possibilities, he added. DEHRADUN: The BJP government in Uttarakhand has withdrawn a case registered against its MLA from Mussoorie Ganesh Joshi for allegedly showing cruelty to police horse Shaktiman, whose death due to injuries sustained during a party protest last year triggered massive outrage.

Terming the case lodged against Joshi as an act of "political vendetta" by the previous government, state urban development minister and spokesman of the state government Madan Kaushik said all "politically motivated" cases slapped against party workers by the previous regime are being withdrawn.

"We withdrew the case against Ganesh Joshi in the Shaktiman episode as it fell into that (politically motivated) category. All such cases where our party workers were wrongfully framed for voicing their social concerns are being withdrawn," Kaushik said.

Joshi and his supporters had been booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and various sections of the IPC in the case. Police horse Shaktiman was injured during a demonstration held by the BJP near the state assembly on March 14 last year.