The Nilgiri police of Baleswar district have arrested a 30-year old man, who was wanted by them since about four months in connection with kidnapping and raping a 20-year old girl. The accused was forwarded to court on Thursday.
The victim had alleged that she was raped in a lodge near the Baleswar railway station by Srikanta Behera of village Rangamatia in the pretext of marriage.
Behera, who used to work in a company in Bengaluru, and the girl of village Khulia in Nilgiri had a love relationship for about four years. Promising the girl to marry her, Behera had asked her to come to Baleswar town from Nilgiri. Behera had told her that he would marry her in a temple and then within two to three days they would go to Bengaluru.
The girl without informing her parents came to Baleswar on April 15 with some cash and gold ornaments for marriage. She and Behera stayed together in a lodge for two days. Behera, after applying vermilion on her forehead, established physical relationship with her against her wish, she had alleged in her complaint to the police. Afterwards, Behera further asked her to take off all her gold ornaments and hand them over to him along with the cash as there was a fear of theft in train while going to Bengaluru.
After both of them moved to the Baleswar railway station from the lodge, Behera went out of platform stating that he was going to purchase some medicine. When he didn’t return, the goel finding no way out went back to her parents’ house and divulged her ordeal to them.
Nilgiri SDPO Swapna Ranjan Mahapatra said, “The accused has been nabbed and forwarded to court being booked under sections of kidnapping and raping.”