A 20-year-old college student was gang-raped on Odisha’s Gopalpur beach by three men. The incident occurred in Ganjam district on Sunday evening, June 14.
Police have arrested 10 people, including four adults and six minors. Police said that the victim, hailing from Berhampur, was out with her male friend when they were attacked by the group.
“On Sunday evening, a 20-year-old woman, along with her 20-year-old friend, who were classmates in a college in Behrampur, had been to Gopalpur beach. In the evening, around 6:30 pm, they were sitting in a secluded area. At the same time, around 10 men were sitting there. Around 8 pm, they overpowered the boy and the girl and they took them to another place around 50 metres away where three person raped her. The others were keeping a watch on the male friend,” Berhampur superintendent of police (SP) Sravana Vivek M said.
“After 10 pm, a complaint was registered. The investigating team detained seven suspects for questioning. The rest of three accused were also detained,” he said.
While six adults were arrested, the four minors, all 17-year-olds, have been produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. “Pleas will be sent to the Juvenile Justice Board to treat minors as adults as they are above 16,” the police officer said.
Meanwhile, Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed shock over the incident and said strict action will be taken against all those involved.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday slammed the BJP government in Odisha after the alleged gang rape of a 20-year-old woman in Odisha and claimed that violence against women is increasing with every passing day in the state.
The 20-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by around 10 people at an isolated place on the Gopalpur beach, a renowned tourist destination in Odisha, police said. A case was registered at the Gopalpur police station after the survivor, an undergraduate student of a private college, lodged an FIR on Monday.
In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said the strongest words are not enough to condemn the brutality that was meted out to a student by 10 men at Gopalpur in Odisha.
“Violence against women is increasing by every passing day in Odisha. In a state where the chief minister himself admits that about 44,000 women and children have disappeared in the last five years, not giving priority to women’s safety is in itself an atrocity against women,” she said.
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