TV
Jajpur Town Police arrested three coaches on Tuesday for allegedly gangraping a minor girl who had come to the town for hockey training. The incident had previously occurred at a local lodge on July 3, but it came to the fore a day ago.
Also Read: Hockey coaches accused of gang-raping minor trainee in Jajpur, 4 detained
After recording the victim’s statement in court yesterday, police had detained as many as four persons, including the two accused coaches. Three of them have been arrested.
According to police sources, the accused men allegedly took the girl to a lodge where they committed the crime. Following the incident, the minor lodged an FIR at Jajpur Town Police Station on July 20, leading to a formal case being registered.
Three people have been arrested, including two former coaches, Sagar Nayak and Sarthak Mohanty, and a current coach, Sandip Swain. All three were arrested and produced before the court by Jajpur Town Police.
Meanwhile, one more person, who was previously detained, has been released by the police as no evidence of his involvement in the incident was found.
Jajpur Police acted promptly and arrested the accused based on the victim’s allegations. Her statement was also recorded in court under Section 183 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which is a standard process in cases involving serious offenses like sexual assault.
Medical examinations of the rape survivor have been completed, and further investigation is underway. The case has raised concerns among the sports community and advocates of child safety across the State.
Police officials have confirmed that the investigation is being pursued rigorously and that appropriate legal action will be taken against the accused if found guilty.
However, no comments about the incident could be obtained from the police.
Worth mentioning, the mother of the victim earlier disclosed that no action was taken despite informing the sports authorities umpteen times, prompting her to approach the police.
As per the FIR, two hockey coaches and one of their associates had kidnapped the girl and gangraped her in a lodge. The victim’s mother subsequently raised the matter again before Jajpur sports authorities on July 17.
The authorities again assured to take up the matter in the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). However, no action was allegedly taken.
