Cuttack cafe horror: MLA claims 3 police stations turned away gang-rape survivor

Three police stations in Cuttack refused to lodge the complaint of a 19-year-old college student who survived multiple gang rapes, the Odisha Congress has alleged.

The incident came to light on Friday (November 8) when the woman lodged a complaint at the Badambadi Police Station in Cuttack, alleging that the accused persons, including her boyfriend, gang-raped her.

MLA’s allegation

However, the Congress’s Cuttack-Barabati MLA Sofia Firdous has alleged that the woman first went to the Puri Ghat police station, then to Sadar police station, and then to Barang before the FIR was lodged by Badambadi police.

Firdous has demanded an investigation into the role of police for allegedly making the woman go from one police station to another to lodge the complaint.

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Incident happened at café

The woman has alleged that she had gone to a cafe with her boyfriend in the Puri Ghat police station area during Dussehra to celebrate her birthday. However, the boyfriend, allegedly with the help of the cafe owner, filmed on his phone some of their intimate moments there.

With that video, the boyfriend and his friends allegedly blackmailed her and raped her multiple times. The complaint was lodged on November 4, and the accused were arrested over the next two days, police said.

Six arrested

Police have so far arrested six persons, including the woman’s boyfriend, for allegedly gang-raping her multiple times and videographing the acts. One of those arrested is reportedly a minor

They have been booked under various sections of the BNS, IT Act, and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Videos recovered

The police also recovered the videos from their mobile phones which were sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory in Bhubaneswar for examination, an officer told news agency PTI.

Cuttack Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jagmohan Meena said in a press conference that the accused persons have sexually assaulted the victim twice.

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Memorandum submitted

Firdous met DGP YB Khurania on Saturday over the incident and submitted a memorandum.

“When the victim went to lodge an FIR against the accused persons, three police stations in Cuttack refused to register it. Therefore, I urged the DGP to investigate why the FIR was not lodged at first,” she told reporters.

“The delay is alarming and raises serious concern about the responsiveness of the law enforcement agencies, especially when it comes to addressing crimes against women,” she added.

“Never happened in Cuttack”

Firdous claimed that the survivor could not be reached at present, expressing concern about her well-being and safety.

Stating that such type of incidents had never taken place in Cuttack, which is densely populated, she said, “If such incidents are happening now in this city, then it is a matter of worry.”

DCP Meena told PTI that an inquiry will be made into the allegations levelled by the MLA.

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Victim is “safe”

“We came to know from the MLA about the allegation that the police did not register a case at first. The police will certainly inquire into the matter. However, neither the victim nor anyone from her family has made such an allegation. The victim is safe,” he said.

Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Friday said the state government has zero tolerance towards crimes against women, and efforts were underway to make Odisha free of such crimes by 2026.

(With agency inputs)