Malkangiri: Even as recent cases of sexual violence against women continue to keep Odisha in the spotlight, the State's Malkangiri district reported one of the most horrifying cases where a minor girl was gang-raped in two separate incidents in a row on Sunday. Police have arrested four persons including three youths and a truck driver in this connection. 

The accused youths were identified as Manoj Harijan, Rohit Kumar Hial and Bira Bhartia, and the truck driver Sobham Singh from Madhya Pradesh. While Singh was handed over to police by locals, the youths were arrested following the survivor's statement. 

As per reports, the girl,a resident of Malkangiri Sadar, was raped twice in two separate incidents on Sunday night. She had gone to attend a friend's birthday celebration where the three youths took her to an isolated house in the town and allegedly gang-raped her. But the horror did not end there. After managing to escape, she was heading home when another truck driver abducted her and raped her in the vehicle, about 15 km away from the town near Bija Ghati on Malkangiri-Jeypore highway. 

A few locals heard her screams and rushed to her rescue. They detained the driver and informed the police who immediately arrived at the spot and took the accused into custody. 

Official sources said the girl was taken to Shakti Sadan, a government-run shelter home in Malkangiri town. During recording of her statement, it came to the fore that she had been subjected to the heinous crime twice. Acting on leads about the first incident, cops tracked the three youths and nabbed them as well.

 Meanwhile, family members of the girl started searching for her frantically. After finding her, getting to know about her ordeal, they filed a written complaint today.

Following the incident, the Opposition slammed the government as waves of outrage erupted across the region. Meeting the local police, members of the Congress and BJD demanded resignation of the Chief Minister. Crimes against women have seen an alarming surge after the BJP came to power, they claimed, threatening to take to the streets if justice to the girl was delayed.

On the other hand, local BJP leaders too interacted with the IIC and condemned the incident. Investigation has been initiated and the government will ensure that a crime like rape is not politicised, they said.