Two burglars, aide held for gang-rape of Bhubaneswar woman

BHUBANESWAR: Three men, including two burglars, were arrested on Wednesday for the alleged gang rape of a 25-year-old woman at her residence in Bhubaneswar early Monday.

The accused were identified as Bikash Naik (26), Jaga Singh (25) and Tukuna Nayak (27). Tukuna is a neighbour of the woman, while Bikash and Jaga earlier resided in the same locality.

The crime occurred in a multi-storey building of a housing colony developed by the state govt for slum dwellers. The woman, who recently separated from her husband, took a flat on the first floor on rent 20 days before the incident.

Police sources said early on Monday, Bikash and Jaga found her balcony door open and entered her house. When the woman found them stealing her mobile phone and a pair of earrings from a cupboard, the duo gagged her mouth. Later, they sexually assaulted the woman by holding her two-year-old daughter at knife point, police sources said.

Tukuna, an autorickshaw driver, stood guard outside her flat while Bikash and Jaga committed the crime. The woman raised an alarm after the accused fled from her home.

“It was a big challenge for us to identify the accused. The woman, who arrived recently in the colony, did not know any of the accused. There is no CCTV camera in the building. Our personnel carried out a meticulous investigation and arrested the accused within 48 hours,” commissioner of police S Dev Datta Singh said.

Police sources said that Bikash and Jaga had stolen a mobile phone from her balcony on Sept 28. The woman did not file a police complaint, believing she had misplaced her phone.

Police obtained a crucial lead about the accused by examining the call records of her stolen phone. The accused had used a new SIM card after destroying the old SIM. By tracking the phone’s IMEI number, the police were able to locate the accused.

Police have found that Bikash, a dancer in a local troupe, and Jaga, a glass worker, are habitual offenders. They were earlier arrested in several cases, including theft, burglary and attempt to murder in different areas, in the city.


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