2 more cases of child sex abuse come to light in Puri

BHUBANESWAR: Even before the outrage over the alleged rape of a five-year-old girl in Puri could die down, two more incidents of sexual assault on children surfaced in the town on Tuesday. The three cases, involving sexual abuse on children, have raised serious concerns about the safety of kids.
In one of the cases, police arrested a man for allegedly raping his two-year-old daughter, and in the other a man has been arrested for molesting his five-year-old neighbour.
The police arrested the 24-year-old man after receiving a complaint from his wife. The woman alleged that her husband had sexually abused their own child at home. The condition of the child is stable, police said. It was learnt that the accused, who works in a laundry in Cuttack, was arrested in 2020 for allegedly attempting to kill his wife for dowry.
In the second incident, the police arrested Subasish Tripathy (28) in connection with the molestation of his five-year-old neighbour. Tripathy called her home and allegedly attempted to rape her, police said, quoting the child’s parents.
“We accorded top priority to both the cases and promptly arrested the accused. They have been sent to judicial custody after being produced in court. Chargesheets will be submitted in both the cases within 20 days,” Puri superintendent of police (SP), Kanwar Vishal Singh, said.
The Puri police already have their task cut out in their bid to arrest Mahesh Mohanty (36), an auto-rickshaw driver, who is on the run after raping a five-year-old girl on Sunday.
(The victims' identity has not been revealed to protect their privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)