3 male athletes held for ‘sexually assaulting’ junior

BHUBANESWAR: Three male athletes were arrested on Monday on charges of sexually assaulting their junior, a 15-year-old boy, here on Sunday.
The accused were identified by police as Suraj Thakur, Jagannath Dash and Asish Patra.
The complainant, a Class X student from Rourkela, alleged that the trio sodomised him for his poor performance in a sports event at a private university here on Saturday.
“They called me to their hostel room on Sunday and hurled abuses at me as I failed to qualify for the long jump event. They also forced me to strip and sexually assaulted me. They are my seniors and hail from Rourkela,” the victim, who is the son of a government employee said.
In his complaint, the victim further alleged that the accused filmed him nude and shared the clip among their friends. “They also video-called two of my friends and showed them my nude photos,” the boy alleged.
After the victim narrated his ordeal to his parents, they took him to the police station here on Sunday to lodge a complaint. The police conducted his medical examination and asked the accused to depose for interrogation.
The mother-son duo on Monday met Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner of police, Uma Shankar Dash, who instructed the police to immediately take action. “We took strong note of the sensitive case and registered a case. An assistant commissioner of police is monitoring the investigation,” Dash said. Authorities of the university where the athletics event was held refused to comment on the matter.