Odisha: Lady CRC staff held for shielding accused

KENDRAPARA:  Lady employee of a government-funded Child Care Centre (CRC), managed by an NGO, was arrested on Saturday for her involvement in a sex racket that had come to fore in April. 

Accused, Renubala Panda, housemother of the CRC was held for her role in alleged sexual exploitation of a lady staff. The CRC is managed by Lutheran Mahila Samiti at Patalipanka within Marsaghai police limits here. 

On April 17 this year, housefather of the centre, Kunjabihari Das, was arrested. During investigation, police came to know that Renubala along with president of the organisation, Pramila Tripathy, her brother Jagannath and others had been shielding Kunjabihari, who had been working with the outfit since 2015, said Sasmita Behera, the investigating officer of the case.  

Allegations of a sex racket being run at the centre rocked the State after a social worker, in a petition in March this year, alleged before the chairperson of Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) that a 35-year-old lady staff  was raped by two persons - Kunjabihari and Jagannath for four years as a result of which she got pregnant and gave birth to a child in 2018. 

The victim’s husband is lodged in prison since last four years in a murder case. After probe, chairperson of OSCPCR Sandhyabati Pradhan directed police to initiate legal action against the accused. Basing on the probe, Kunjabihari was arrested. More persons will be nabbed soon in the case, said Behera.