BHUBANESWAR: A woman was allegedly raped by a man in a car on Wednesday evening and dumped near a college along National Highway-16 in Khurda town. On the basis of a complaint filed by the woman, police registered a case under Section 376 of IPC and detained the suspect for questioning. The car has been seized.
The woman had reportedly told police that a man known to her insisted on dropping her from Bhubaneswar to her rented accommodation in Khurda in his car and allegedly raped her near Kalinga Nagar area under Khandagiri police limits in the Capital.
However, in her complaint, the woman alleged that the incident occurred in Khurda district. Khandagiri police said they have recorded the woman’s statement under Section 161 of CrPC, while her statement was recorded in the court under Section 164 of CrPC, Bhubaneswar DCP Anup Kumar Sahoo said. A native of Gania in Nayagarh district, the woman has been staying with her mother in Khurda from last two years and is working as a librarian at a college in Banki.
Meanwhile, the suspect’s family members claimed that he is innocent. The suspect’s lawyer, Deepak Das, said his client owns a cab and operates it. “The woman had boarded his cab about six months back and had also taken his mobile phone number for future use. About two months back, she had telephoned him and asked to lend her `2,000,” Das added.
On Wednesday evening my client had come to Bhubaneswar to drop a passenger when he received a call from the woman saying she wanted to return his money, Das further said. The man met her near Khurda by-pass road. “The woman, however, said she did not have any money and asked him to take her to an ATM kiosk. On the way, an argument ensued between them and she jumped out of the car,” Das said.