Gopalpur gang rape: Prime accused was booked in a bomb-making case

Post-assault, the accused persons extorted Rs 1,000 from the survivor and her male friend through cash and UPI, police said

Bhubaneswar: The 10 accused, who allegedly raped a college student at Gopalpur on June 15, also extorted Rs 1,000 from the victim and her male companion after the sexual assault, investigators said on Thursday.

The prime accused, a B Tech dropout who was out on bail in an attempt to murder case, had come to Odisha from Bengaluru, where he worked in a factory, they said. The gang rape case, which sparked nationwide outrage, is currently being investigated by the CID Crime Branch. Personnel of the Gopalpur police earlier arrested the 10 accused, including four minors.

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A CID team led by the Crime Against Women and Children Wing IG, S Shyni, visited the place of occurrence for the second consecutive day on Thursday. Police said the team collected pieces of evidence like samples of sand, cigarette stubs and several other materials used by the accused persons and the 20-year-old victim.

The investigating team also has a plan to collect DNA samples of all 10 accused who are residents of three villages under two police station areas. The victim’s male companion, who is the lone witness to the crime, was also questioned, and his statement was recorded both in audio and video format, police said.

The Crime Against Women and Children Wing has also spoken to the victim and counselled her. It was alleged that three people raped her in turns and the others captured her male companion.

The police said that all 10 arrested accused were between 17 to 24 years of age and the prime accused is a B Tech dropout having criminal records. Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said that the prime accused, 23-year-old Pramod Nayak, hailed from a village under Purusottampur police station area.

He was working at an electronics goods factory near Bengaluru and had come to his village on leave. He was out on bail in an attempt to murder case and booked in a bomb-making matter registered at Puroruttampur police station, the SP said.

The police in a statement said that on Sunday (June 15), Nayak asked his friends to go to Gopalpur. After reaching Gopalpur on three motorbikes around 3.30 pm, they bathed in the sea and came to an isolated spot at 6 pm, half an hour before the couple arrived there.

They assaulted the man and raped the woman around 8 pm, the statement said. Post-assault, the accused persons extorted Rs 1,000 from the survivor and her male friend through cash and UPI, it said. Police have moved the Juvenile Justice Board, requesting that the four minors involved be tried as adults, citing the heinous nature of the crime.