Berhampur: A 22-year-old married woman was allegedly gangraped after being abducted by four men in Ganjam district, following which the accused have been arrested, a police officer said today.
The four accused, including an auto driver, were arrested yesterday for allegedly abducting and gangraping the woman who had come from Patharapunji in Nayagarh district to Bhanjanagar to meet her husband, lodged in Bhanjanagar jail in a criminal case, the officer said.
The accused were identified as Badala Pradhan (30), Prasanta Panigrahi (30), Simanchal Patnaik (33) and Narayan Behera (30), an auto-driver, who are all from Belagutha, the officer said.
The woman had come to Bhanjanagar to meet her husband on Sunday but she failed to meet him. Since she was very poor and could not afford to stay in a hotel, she chose to spend the night on the verandah of the sub-divisional hospital, Bhanajangar, on Sunday night, deciding to meet her husband the next day, they said.
The accused allegedly kidnapped her from there on Monday morning, the police officer said.
They then allegedly took her to a nearby jungle towards Kalinga Road in the auto and took turns to rape her. The victim managed to jump from the auto at Jamapalli when the accused were allegedly taking her towards Belaguntha from the jungle, a police officer said.
The villagers rescued the woman and detained the accused along with the vehicle and informed the police, the officer said.
On the basis of the FIR lodged by the woman, the accused were arrested under the section 376 (D) (gang rape), 363 (kidnapping), 506 (threatening) and 34 (act done by a group with common intention) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The accused and the woman were sent for medical examination, the officer added.