Survivors of sexual assault kill accused, burn his body in Odisha

A total of 10 people, including eight women, were arrested after the incident came to light. Police had launched a search for the man after his family filed a missing complaint

Bhubaneswar: A group of women, who were allegedly sexually assaulted by a 60-year-old man over a period of time, killed him and burnt his body in Odisha’s Gajapati district, police said. A total of 10 people, including eight women, were arrested after the incident came to light.

Police had launched a search for the man after his family filed a missing complaint. “We came to know that the man was hacked to death and his body was subsequently burnt,” Mohana police station officer-in-charge Basant Sethi said on Monday.

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Police recovered the bones and ashes of the deceased from a hillock near a forest area, about 2 km from the village. Ten people, including a ward member of the village, have been arrested, he said.

The incident took place on the night of June 3 when the man had allegedly raped a 52-year-old widow in the village, the officer said, adding some women, including victims of his previous sexual assaults, later held a meeting and decided to kill him.

“They went to his house, where he was sleeping, and the 52-year-old widow hacked the man to death with the help of other survivors. Two men had also assisted the women,” he said. The accused had become a widower four years ago and had allegedly sexually assaulted several women of the village since then, he said.

“At least six of the arrested women confided that they had been victims of sexual assault by the man,” Sethi said, adding they took the step to put an end to such repeated incidents. Gajapati Superintendent of Police Jatindra Kumar Panda said, “The women had never sought police help or lodged any complaint against the deceased.”