Commissionerate Police on Monday arrested three senior atheletes for their alleged involvement in torturing and sexually abusing a minor during the Odisha State Athletics Meet in Bhubaneswar.
The accused senior players-Suraj Thakur, Jagannath Das, Ashish Patra were arrested based on the complaint filed by the victim’s family members at Infocity police station.
All the accused have been booked under India Penal Code sections- 342, 323, 506, 34 and under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. All the three accused had tortured the minor athlete at the hostel of a private university where they were accommodated for the sports meet.
In the complaint, it was alleged that the minor, who is a class 10 student from Rourkela, was subjected to torture, humiliation and sexual abuse at a hostel where the athletes were kept during the meet which was held between April 8 and April 10.
The victim alleged that the four senior players had initially hurled slangs at him for failing to qualify in the long jump event held on April 9. “The next day, the senior players called me to their room. I thought that they had called me to give me breakfast coupons. When I went to their room, they misbehaved and stripped me. Later, they sexually abused me and make a video call to two friends. They humiliated me by calling my friends to the room as well,” the victim alleged.
Though the family members had lodged a written complaint, no action was initially taken. Later, the family had knocked the doors of Bhubaneswar DCP seeking action in connection with the incident today.
Bhubaneswar ACP, Ramesh Ch. Bisoi said, "The senior athletes had restorted to the extreme in a bid to give punishment to the minor for not qualify in an event. The concerned IIC had registered a case after a formal complaint was registered in connection with the incident. Based on the FIR, we have arrested three athletes under relevant sections."