Woman gang-raped by burglars

Bhubaneswar: Ina shocking incident, two robbers allegedly sexually abused a woman by holding her toddler hostage at knifepoint in Bhubaneswar.As per the reports, the incident happened in an apartment in Maitri Vihar area of the city during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. The Commissionerate Police on Wednesday arrested three persons in connection with the alleged loot andgang-rape of the woman.

The victim works in a private company and stays on the first floor of the apartment with her two-year-old daughter.Two looters allegedly entered the house at around 2 am as the victim had forgotten to close the balcony door. The woman was in the bathroom when they entered the room.

The looters held both the woman and her daughter hostage immediately after she came out of the bathroom. Meanwhile, the victim pleaded with the looters to not harm her daughter.The looters later searched for cash and gold ornaments in the room. They reportedly raped the woman before leaving with the gold ornaments. Based on the complaint lodged by thevictim, Maitri Vihar police had launched a probe after registering a case under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.The woman also alleged in her complaint that the looters were speaking in Hindi, indicating that they could be from outside Odisha.

Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack, S Dev Datta Singh, told reporters that the case has been cracked successfully with the arrest of three persons, including two prime accused, for their involvement in the incident.

Maitri Vihar Police had initially detained two burglars on the basis of the complaint lodged by the woman and questioned them before the breakthrough was achieved.

The two main accused have criminal antecedents and they were residing near the area.

The incident raised a serious question over the ongoing night patrolling, blocking and checking drive carried out in the capital city by the city police.

It is pertinent to mention that Bhubaneswar police had recently been in the line of fire over the alleged brutal assault on an Army officer and sexual harassment of his fiancee at a police station in the cityon September 15.