Police turns its back on rape victims

Rape victims in Odisha, it seems, are getting it hard to seek justice as police have turned its back on them. Most of the times the victim had to face humiliation after police refused to file their FIR under pressure from influential persons.

Recently, two more rape victims have accused the police of failing to register their complaint.

In first case, a girl from Kumbhari village of Balangir district was raped by a youth of same village and the Saintala police refused to register her complaint despite the girl naming her tormentor.

The rape victim alleged that police demanded bribe to register the case against the accused. The girl identified the accused as Banabihari Behera.

Failing to get justice from police, the victim approached State Women Commission.
 
According to the chairperson of State Women Commission, Jyoti Panigrahi, “The victim has lodged complaint before the commission that police have refused to file her FIR as the culprit belongs to an established family. But I assure that the victim would definitely get justice.”
 
In another incident, a 15-year-old Dalit girl delivered a child on Tuesday after she was sexually abused by her distant cousin Amar Sethy in Kendrapara district. Amar Sethy is already married and has seven-month-old child. Despite a case being lodged against the accused, the police have failed to nab the culprit.

According to the white paper tabled in the Odisha assembly on the condition of women in the state, about 4,100 cases under section 376 (rape) were registered at different police stations of during the last three years.