Three arrested for raping a mentally challenged researcher from Odisha

The three suspects were arrested by the Delhi Police between October 30 and November 4. | Photo credit: file photo

Three men have been arrested for the abduction and rape of a 34-year-old mentally challenged woman from Odisha, police said on Thursday. The suspects – Prabhu Mahto, 28, an autorickshaw driver, Pramod Babu, 32, who worked at a scrap shop, and Mohammad Shamsul, 29, a beggar – have been booked under BNS sections 70(1) (gang rape) and 115( 2) (voluntarily cause pain) at Sunlight Colony police station.

The victim, who is being treated at the psychiatric ward of AIIMS, was born in Puri, has an MA in social work from Utkal University of Culture, Bhubaneswar and has worked as a researcher, facilitator and community leader, a senior officer said. .

She has eight years of experience in the social sector and has served as a research fellow at Kalinga Network for Living with HIV/AIDS, a community leader at Women Power for Sanitation Awareness, and an advisor at the Odisha government’s One Stop Center, which provides support to women victims of violence, the officer added.

DCP (Southeast) Ravi Kumar Singh said that on October 11 around 3.15 am, police received a call about a woman lying injured in Sarai Kale Khan following which a police team rushed her to AIIMS Trauma Centre.

“Upon reaching the hospital, the victim told the attending physician that she had been sexually abused by three people. After sharing the initial statement, she was unable to cooperate with the investigation or hospital staff due to her trauma,” the DCP added.

Gaining the victim’s trust

“We have sought permission from the hospital and deployed a woman constable, Sangeeta, and a woman from Odisha to take care of the victim, in an effort to build trust and gather crucial information from her,” Mr Singh said.

The DCP said Ms Sangeeta was able to get some key details from the victim – that an autorickshaw driver had dumped her after sexually assaulting her along with two other men, one of whom had a physical disability.

The first breakthrough in the case came on October 30, when police arrested Mahto. Babu and Shamsul, the one with the physical disability, were subsequently arrested on November 2 and 4.

“During interrogation, Pramod said that on October 10, he saw a woman sitting near the railway station in Old Delhi. He then called Shamsul and conspired with him to sexually abuse the woman, assuming that she was mentally unsound and an easy target,” Mr Pramod said. .

The two suspects dragged her to a deserted area, where they were joined by Mahto, who also raped the woman and then dumped her with Sarai Kale Khan, he added.