PURI: The rape of three minor girls in as many days has sent shockwaves in the pilgrim town putting Puri police under intense scrutiny. Two more incidents of minor girls being raped in the jurisdiction of Puri Town police came to the fore on Tuesday. Shockingly, the father is the accused in one of the rape cases. These incidents come close on the heels of the rape of a minor girl by a 35-year-old man at Sidha Bakula lane on Sunday.
Police said the mother of a two-year-old girl of Goudabada Sahi lodged a complaint with Town police accusing her husband of raping their daughter. The accused father was identified as Raj Kumar Karmakar. She alleged that Karmakar, an alcohol addict, used to assault her regularly in an inebriated state. He was jailed in a domestic violence case and recently released on bail.
On the day, a drunk Karmakar again thrashed her before raping their minor daughter, the mother alleged. Basing on her FIR, police registered a case and have detained Karmakar. In another incident, a five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour, a youth, in a slum within Baliapanda police limits. As per the complaint lodged by the victim’s parents, the girl was alone in the house when the accused, Subhasish Tripathy, reportedly committed the crime.
Police registered a case and arrested Tripathy. The girl and accused were taken to the district headquarters hospital for medical examination. On Sunday, one Mahesh Mohanty had raped a five-year-old girl on the rooftop of her house. A native of Jagatsinghpur, Mohanty had criminal antecedents and was recently released from jail. He was living in a rented accommodation in Puri and acquainted with the victim’s family.
Meanwhile, hundreds of BJP Mahila Morcha workers led by district president Jyoti Mahapatra staged protest in front of the SP office here demanding arrest of all the accused persons. They alleged that inaction of police is emboldening criminals in Puri town as two of the rape accused were recently released from jail.
Additional SP Mihir Panda said while Tripathy was produced in court and remanded in judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected, the accused father is being interrogated by police. A manhunt has been launched and four police teams are conducting raids at various locations to nab Mohanty.