Digha tourist misses last train, raped in Odisha hotel

DIGHA/TALSARI: A 42-year-old tourist from Malda’s English Bazaar was raped in a hotel in Odisha’s Talsari on Sunday night after she missed the last train to Howrah from Digha. The accused, identified as Akash, had allegedly took her away from Digha station, promising to arrange a hotel room for the night. The woman lodged a complaint with Talsari Coastal PS, which is investigating the case.Akash is absconding.
The accused allegedly approached her when she was waiting on an empty station after missing the last train. He introduced himself as a hotel employee and offered to help her. The woman fell into his trap and agreed to accompany him. The accused took the woman to Talsari, located around 8 kilometres from Digha.
“I love to travel alone. I reached Digha by train from Howrah on Sunday morning. I went to the New Digha beach where I kept my bags with the owner of an eatery nearby. I then took a bath in the sea and had lunch at the eatery. I then visited the local markets and later set out for the station to board the Digha-Howrah Kandari Express,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I missed the 6.15pm train. There was no train for Howrah from Digha in the evening. I decided to spend the night at the station and board a Howrah-bound train on Monday morning. Soon, a youth, who introduced himself as Akash, approached me. When he offered to arrange for my night’s stay at a hotel, I accompanied him. We took an auto and reached Hotel Sita after 30 minutes. At the hotel, the youth spoke to the manager, who sent us to Room No. 33. Once inside, I was served tea. It’s only then that he told me that we had entered Odisha,” said the victim.
In her complaint, the woman said she felt drowsy after having the tea. After that, the accused allegedly gagged her with a piece of cloth and raped her several times. She also alleged that Akash fled with Rs 5,000 and an expensive mobile. Hotel owner Badal Dutta said: “I heard something happened at my hotel last night. Police had even come to my hotel. But, I don’t know what happened as I was not present there. My manager was there.” An officer of Talsari Coastal PS said, “We have started a probe and questioned the hotel staff. We are looking for the accused.”
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)