Odisha: Homeless woman gang-raped for 7 months; 4 people arrested

Though the woman was rescued and taken to a one-stop centre on September 6 after her pregnancy was confirmed, the Dhenkanal police took action only after human rights activist Jayanta Kumar Das filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Sunday and sent copies to the Dhenkanal police.

Police officials said the seven youths dragged the woman to the terrace of an abandoned Anganwadi centre where she lived with her father and sexually abused her almost every night after 10 pm. “Her father has mental problems and usually sleeps by 10 pm. The youths forcibly entered the abandoned Anganwadi centre as the door could not be locked from inside. They then abused her until 2 am. The abuse did not stop even when she became pregnant five months ago,” said Deepak Kumar Lenka, inspector-in-charge of Dhenkanal Sadar police station.

Police said they managed to arrest four of the seven accused after the complaint was filed. “We will arrest all the accused as soon as possible. Raids are underway,” Lenka said, adding that the woman's father is being rehabilitated in a nursing home.

Human rights activist Das, who filed a complaint with the NHRC, claimed that the woman had lodged a complaint with the families of some of the accused. “But none of them took any notice of it and dismissed the incident alleging mental imbalance. This encouraged the accused to continue sexually abusing the woman,” he said, accusing the police of inaction in the matter. “Though the woman was brought to the One Stop Centre on September 6, it is strange that the police did not respond until I lodged a complaint. The delay in registering the FIR shows malicious intent and dereliction of duty, both punishable under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The officials of the One Stop Centre should inform the police,” he said.

According to police, the woman and her father moved into the abandoned building after his wife died. Their relatives and friends seized their land and house and left them homeless, they said.

The gang rape occurred about a week after Chief Minister Mohan Majhi directed Director General of Police (DGP) YB Khurania to convene a conference for police officials on women's safety. Stressing that his government would follow a zero-tolerance policy on women's safety issues, he told the DGP that exemplary action would be taken against any police official found neglecting his duties regarding women's safety.

According to NCRB-2022 report, Odisha has one of the lowest conviction rates in criminal cases against women in the country at 9.2%, compared to 25.3% across the country. In Uttar Pradesh, the conviction rate in such cases is 70.8%, in Mizoram 68% and in Bihar 60.9%.

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