TV
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) corporator Amaresh Jena has been arrested by the Commissionerate Police from Nilagiri in Balasore district on Sunday in connection with a sexual assault case involving a minor girl.
Commissionerate Police had earlier formed three special squads to nab Jena, who was absconding after the allegations. He was subsequently arrested and is being brought to Bhubaneswar, sources said.
According to sources, Jena will first be taken to Laxmisagar police station and later produced before the Court.
Jena, a prominent BJD leader, was booked under the BNS sections 64(2) (rape), 89 (committing miscarriage without woman's permission), 296 (obscene act), and 352 (criminal intimidation), besides section 6 of the POCSO Act, at the Laxmisagar police station, where the survivor lodged a complaint on Wednesday, the police said.
Earlier on Saturday, the police arrested five associates of Jena. The five arrested individuals hail from various parts of Khurda and Jagatsinghpur districts, and were forwarded to judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected, they said.
Notably, a 19-year-old woman in a written complaint at Laxmisagar police station accused the BJD corporator of rape, foeticide, cheating, and criminal intimidation. Jena, while absconding, told a section of the media that he was innocent and had been framed by the ruling BJP.
In her complaint, the survivor alleged that the corporator sexually exploited her with the promise of marriage when she was 17 years old. She claims that Jena took her to Puri, engaged in physical relations, and in February 2024, when she was still a minor, forced her to abort a two-month pregnancy by administering pills.
The survivor also alleged that she was threatened and directed not to reveal the matter to anyone.
Meanwhile, police recorded the statement of the survivor after conducting her medical test.
Soon after the arrest, BJD suspended Jena from the primary membership of the party.
