Gang-rape victim made to sit in police van for 12 hours to go for medical examination

By Akshaya Pattnaik

KEONJHARR, JAN. 20: A tribal woman was reportedly abducted and gang raped by three youths in Soso area of Keonjhar district.

According to reports, the woman was on Wednesday with her cousin when the three youths assaulted the latter and kidnapped her. They then took her to a secluded place where they took turns on her. The matter came to the fore Thursday after the survivor lodged a written complaint in this connection with Soso police station.

However, her ordeal did not end there. The cops allegedly made her wait for a long for a medical examination. The survivor allegedly had to spend more than 12 hours inside a police van before her medical examination was finally done.

Following the complaint, the cops took the victim to Anandapur sub-divisional hospital for medical examination which is around 40km away from Soso. However, as the place of the incident does not fall under Anandapur, the victim was again sent to Salania Community Health Centre (CHC).

With no other option, the cops took the victim to Salania government hospital only to be once again sent back to Anandapur hospital due to the absence of a lady doctor. She was then made to sit inside the police van until the doctors finally attended to her at around 9 pm at night.

Later, again the survivor was taken to Soso police station at night at around 9:30 pm after the medical examination. The incident received flaks from all quarters.

“The police brought the survivor to Soso police station from Anandapur Sub-divisional hospital at 9am. The distance between Soso and Anandapur is 42 kilometres. She was brought in at 9am, but the doctors attended to her at 9pm. She was kept inside the police van for 12 hours. Now, they have again taken the victim to Soso police station at 9:30 pm after her medical examination. This is what they are doing to a tribal woman who is a victim of rape. This torture is beyond imagination,” alleged Bhagban Sahu, a local resident.

When contacted, inspector Pradip Kumar Sethi said, “Our police station comes under the jurisdiction of Hatadihi block. However, the doctors referred us to Anandapur government hospital as there was no lady doctor there. We also go through unavoidable problems. It’s not that we intentionally delayed the medical examination. An investigation is on and everything will be clear in 2-3 days.”