Odisha: Dalit student gang-raped near Puri beach; 3 held, hunt on for one more

A Dalit college student was allegedly gang-raped near the Baliharchandi temple in Odisha’s Puri district, prompting swift arrests of three accused while a manhunt is underway for another, police said on Tuesday, 16 September.

According to Puri SP Prateek Singh, the 19-year-old victim was with her boyfriend in the Casuarina forest near the temple on Saturday afternoon when a group of youths approached them. The group reportedly clicked photographs and videos of the couple and demanded money in exchange for deleting the footage.

When the couple refused to pay, two of the men allegedly raped the student, while others assaulted her boyfriend and tied him to a tree. The survivor and her partner lodged a complaint at the Puri Sadar police station on Monday evening, Singh said.

Police have since arrested three men, including the prime accused, Siba Sahoo and Manoj Sahoo alias Kalia. “Kalia was tracked down and arrested from the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border.

Both he and Siba, the main accused, have been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The third arrested accused was involved in assaulting the survivor and her boyfriend,” Singh said. A fourth suspect, who also allegedly assaulted the victim, remains at large.

The case has sparked political outrage. Senior BJD leader and former local MLA Sanjay Das Burma criticised the BJP-led state government, demanding stronger security measures around the Baliharchandi temple, a popular tourist destination. “The government must ensure proper security in and around this area, which attracts thousands of visitors daily,” he said.

Puri, one of Hinduism’s four sacred ‘dhams’, is home to the iconic 12th-century Jagannath temple and the world-renowned rath yatra festival, drawing lakhs of devotees and tourists every year.

The latest assault comes just three months after a similar incident in Ganjam district, where a college student was gang-raped at Gopalpur beach on 15 June. Ten people were arrested in that case.

With PTI inputs