Rape accused BJD leader nabbed from Keonjhar

JAJPUR: Police  finally arrested Biju Janata Dal Youth leader, Chandrakant Mohapatra,  for allegedly raping a married woman at ruling party office at Dasarathpur in the district. Chandrakant,  a cousin of Jajpur district BJD unit president Saroj Mohapatra, was arrested  from Keonjhar town late on Thursday. He had been absconding ever since the matter came to light. It was widely alleged that the accused was hiding in Dasarathapur area and the police were going slow on his arrest as he is a political heavyweight.

After four days of hide-and-seek, police swung into action and arrested the rape accused. The Congress and the BJP leaders had met the police and threatened to gherao  Mangalpur police station if Chandrakant was not arrested in two days. The  BJP had even threatened to gherao the police station on Friday demanding justice for the victim.

Police claimed that the accused had absconded. They had formed separate teams to nab him.  “We had formed separate teams and they conducted raids at various places including Cuttack, Jajpur and Keonjhar. Finally, we managed to arrest him from Keonjhar late last night”, said Shaik Akbar Ali, inspector in-charge of Mangalpur police station.

The incident reportedly took place on January 11 around 9 pm and came to light  after the victim lodged an FIR at Mangalpur police station on January 15 .  On the basis of the complaint, a rape case was registered against Chandrakant. As per the allegation of the 32-year-old victim, Chandrakant called the woman, who is a mother of two and abandoned by her husband,  on 11 January night to the party office at Dasarathpur for completion of formalities for sanctioning Biju Pucca Ghar under the State Government-sponsored scheme. The victim had applied for the dwelling unit since she is homeless.

When she reached the BJD party office, Chandrakant called her inside and allegedly raped her.  Chandrakant threatened her of dire consequences if she disclosed the incident to anyone, the victim said.  The accused was forwarded to the court after his medical examination. Later, he was remanded in judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected.