Woman Raped Twice In A Day, Then Thrown Off Four Storey Building In Odisha; Boyfriend, Jharkhand Man Arrested

Paradip: A young woman who had left home to meet her boyfriend and get married in a temple was raped twice at two different places in a day and then murdered by being thrown off a building in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district.

By Sushant Kumar Patra

Police officials said on Friday that the 23-year-old woman was raped, first by her boyfriend Somnath Ojha and then by a stranger, who, in the garb of offering help, took advantage of her and then pushed her off the roof of the four-storey building. He was later identified as Shubham Kumar, a resident of Dhanbad, in Jharkhand.

Police have arrested both the accused and booked them under various sections of BNS for kidnapping, rape and murder.

"The incident took place on February 22 after the woman left her house with plans to elope with her boyfriend, who had asked her to come to a temple by promising to marry her. However, he took her to a secluded place, raped her and abandoned her at Rahama bus stand," Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Ankit Kumar Verma told reporters.

As the victim waited at the bus stand, another man from Jharkhand, heading to nearby Paradip on his motorcycle, saw the hapless woman and offered help. "He, however, took her to the roof of his rented accommodation at a place in Paradip town and raped her again," the SP said.

The accused then threw the woman from the roof of the building, leading to her death, he said, adding her body was found the next morning. The SP said the victim's brother lodged a complaint at Paradip Model police station on February 25, alleging that his sister was raped and murdered on February 22. An unnatural death case was registered on February 23 following the recovery of the woman's body.

Earlier, in the evening of February 22, the woman's brother had lodged a missing persons case at Tirtol police station when his sister did not return home.

BJD supremo and Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Naveen Patnaik, condemned the incident and demanded justice for the woman and other victims of recent rape incidents.

"How many more innocent lives will be lost? From underage girls to differently abled young women, no one is safe. So, is the rule of law still in place in the state? The news of heinous crimes coming from Kanhari in Angul, Kuchinda in Sambalpur, and Paradip is deeply disturbing. Chaos everywhere, insecurity all around, O Mother!" he said in an X post.

"While the government delivers long-winded speeches on women's safety and law and order, the ground reality is extremely alarming. Even in broad daylight, an atmosphere of fear prevails. Despite repeated instances of such deplorable incidents, the government's failure to take any exemplary, stringent action is emboldening the criminals. The government should take proactive steps to spread awareness on women's safety and ensure the rule of law is upheld in the state," the former CM added.

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