Bhubaneswar minor girl gang-rape: Bail pleas of 4 accused rejected

Bhubaneswar: A POCSO court here today rejected the bail pleas of four persons who are accused in the gang-rape of a minor girl in the city.

Private regional news channel OTV employees Aniruddha Panda and Krushna Behera, and two security guards Sribascha Samal and Bijaya Rout were arrested by the Odisha Crime Branch on December 14 for their alleged involvement in the offence. The four had moved the court seeking bail.

The court had earlier remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days at the Jharpada Special Jail here.

As per a complaint lodged by the mother of the victim with Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR), the girl was gangraped by several employees of the channel for around 15 days during the month of April-May.

The accused committed the offence after tying the hands and legs of the girl. They also recorded videos of the incident and threatened the victim to leak it, alleged the girl’s mother who was working as a receptionist in the organisation.