A 17-year-old girl, who fled sexual assault at the hands of her stepfather in Andhra Pradesh, was drugged and raped by two people in Odisha, police said on Tuesday.
Odisha Police arrested two people and detained a boy in connection with the incident.
The girl was drugged and raped by two men in Berhampur on March 29, an officer said, adding that the police team rescued her after receiving information from local residents.
Three people, including two adults aged 23 and 19, have been detained, while a 15-year-old boy has been sent to a juvenile home, Berhampur Superintendent of Police Saravana Vivek M said.
Apart from the gang rape case under various sections, including provisions of the POCSO Act, the police have also registered another case against the survivor’s stepfather in Andhra Pradesh for alleged sexual assault that prompted her to run away from home, the police said.
During investigation, police found that the girl, a native of Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh, ran away from her home and reached Berhampur railway station on board Prashanti Express on March 24 to escape sexual assault at the hands of her stepfather.
She told police that her mother had remarried after her father’s death, and her stepfather had been sexually abusing her.
After arriving in Berhampur, she spent some time at a platform and then found work at a nearby tea stall. There, she befriended a local boy, who took her to meet his friends on March 29.
Initial investigations revealed that the girl was offered a drink mixed with sedatives, which led to her losing consciousness. Later, the two adults allegedly raped her while the minor boy was helping them. Later, local residents found her and informed the police.
The survivor was presented before the district child welfare committee and was subjected to a medical examination. She has been placed in a child care home as directed by the CWC, police said.
The incident came to light a day after Bhubaneswar police arrested two ambulance drivers on charges of raping a 21-year-old woman from neighboring West Bengal.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJP strongly attacked the BJP government in the state and expressed concern over the increasing incidents of rape in the state.
Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, BJP general secretary Sumitra Jena claimed that women in Odisha have become very insecure after the BJP came to power in the state.
Citing Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s recent response in the Assembly, the BJP leader said that 48,798 cases of crimes against women have been registered in the state in just 18 months (from July 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025).
Of these cases, 4,292 cases of rape were recorded. Jena added that Odisha under the BJP currently ranks first in the country in cases of crimes against women, while Maharashtra ranks second.
