Third accused in Puri gang rape arrested

The third accused in the case of alleged gang rape of a girl in Puri town of Odisha has been arrested, police said on Saturday.

The accused, who was absconding since the incident happened on December 2, was arrested on Saturday evening from a village under Brahmagiri police station area, they said.

Two of the four persons, including a dismissed police constable, accused of raping the 17-year-old girl in the temple town were arrested on December 3.

The girl was allegedly gang raped by two persons including the former police constable inside a police quarters near Jhadeswari Club in the town.

The police quarters where the crime was committed had been allotted to the dismissed constable's wife who is also a constable, sources said.

A case has been registered against the accused under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act besides the IPC.

While waiting at Nimapara bus stand, around 30 km from Puri, the girl was offered a lift by the dismissed constable and his friends. They took her to the temple town and allegedly raped her.

The girl had claimed that she was raped by two persons while two others left from the scene after closing the door from outside. She managed to flee from the police quarters as the accused were in an inebriated condition.

The police have been searching for another accused allegedly involved in the case, a senior officer said.

DIG, Central Range, Asish Singh, had said chargesheet would be filed within 20 days from December 2 as the case was taken up on a priority basis.