Puri: Three days after a young woman was allegedly gangraped in front of her male friend after being blackmailed at a popular tourist spot in Odisha's Puri district, police have detained three youths for interrogation in this connection. The shocking incident, which took place at Baliharchandi beach within Brahmagiri police limits on Saturday, came to the fore after a complaint was registered on Monday.

Two of the accused were identified as Kalia Behera and Siba Sahu of Chandiput village. Their fourth aide is still at large.

As per reports, the survivor, a Plus Three second year student, had gone to Baliharchandi with a male friend. After strolling along the beach, the couple was sitting and conversing near a forested patch where four local youths confronted them. They started making videos of the couple and blackmailed them. Threatening to make the clips viral, one of the youths extorted Rs 2000 from the woman's friend. When he tried to resist, the gang tied him up to a tree and then took turns to rape the woman in front of him. The assaulted duo somehow managed to escape but the group again followed and attacked them before fleeing.

When the news about the incident spread, police sent a team to locate the woman. They managed to find her. After initially hesitating to file a formal complaint, the survivor agreed to shared her ordeal and details of the accused. Her statement was recorded and medical examination carried out as per the legal procedure. 

 Police, meanwhile, stared search and managed to nab three of the accused. Official sources said efforts have been intensified to track down the other accomplice. "A case has been registered a case under section 70 of BNS. Three youths have been picked up for questioning. Their mobile phones have beens seized and will be sent to the State Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Bhubaneswar for data retrieval," they said.

The incident is a grim reminder of the shocking Gopalpur case where a a 20 year-old student was gangraped by 10 persons in front of her male friend. It has also once again questioned the safety of tourists, specially women, in popular places across the State.