Four held for highway gang-rape

ANGUL: Police arrested four persons for allegedly gang-raping a woman on National Highway 55. A 32-year-old woman was gang-raped on May 3 at Nakchi by construction workers engaged in the expansion work of NH 55.  “Two more accused in the case are still at large. The arrested individuals include one juvenile,” Athmallick SDPO A Kerketa said.

Those arrested were identified as Tilu Behera, Nilam Sahu and Sujit Behera. A man from Jagatsinghpur town had gone to Sambalpur with his wife and two-year-old daughter. They were returning to Jagatsinghpur by car on May 3. They stopped at Nakchi and the wife came out of the car. 

The woman came back to take a bottle of water from the car and shut the door from outside. The husband mistakenly thought that she was inside the car and drove the vehicle ahead. After crossing Boinda Chowk, the husband realised that his wife was not in the car. After he failed to trace her, the husband reported the matter to Handappa police. They searched for her all night. But, all efforts went in vain.  

After being left behind on the NH, the woman walked towards Boinda. She was noticed by six workers engaged in NH expansion work. “They raped her and then left her on NH. The woman took shelter at a man’s house for two days, after which she came to her sister’s home at Jagatsinghpur,” police said.  
During the course of the investigation, police rescued her from Jagatsinghpur on May 7 and conducted her medical examination. The woman reunited with her husband.