Rayagada horror: NCW demands action taken report within 7 days

Bhubaneswar, June 22 (IANS) The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports concerning the mob assault, molestation, and public stripping of a 22-year-old woman intern in Rayagada district of Odisha on June 16, following false rumours of “child kidnappers”, the commission informed on Monday.

Taking to its X handle, the commission strongly condemned the incident and sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) from the Director General of Police, Odisha, within seven days. It has also asked the DGP to share details regarding the persons arrested in the case and the steps taken to prevent recurrence of such situations in the future.

“The Commission has sought details of the FIR and the provisions invoked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the status of the investigation and arrests made, action taken against those responsible for spreading rumours, medical care, counselling, and rehabilitation provided to the survivor, measures adopted to ensure the safety of NGO workers and interns, and steps taken to prevent mob vigilantism through community policing and public awareness campaigns,” stated NCW.

Notably, petitions have also been filed by human rights activists at the National Human Rights Commission, seeking an independent inquiry into the mob violence, arrest of the persons involved in the attack on the woman and the man from outside the state, arrest status, and examination of administrative lapses.

According to police, the victims, who work for an NGO, were travelling from Daringbadi in Kandhamal district to Thuamul-Rampur in Kalahandi district via Kalyansinghpur using Google Maps.

Meanwhile, the victims were reportedly stopped and questioned by some villagers on suspicion of being child-lifters at Kandulaguda village under Dhamunipanga Panchayat, located about 7 km from Kalyansinghpur police station.

Later, as the two volunteers were returning to Kalyansinghpur after being frightened by the situation, some people allegedly spread rumours over phone calls in nearby villages that child-lifters were on the move.

The rumour quickly spread across Sainagar, Intaliguda, and the surrounding areas. Near a roadside dhaba at Sainagar, a group of youths intercepted the two volunteers and assaulted them. Within a short time, more than a hundred people gathered at the spot and joined the mob attack.

The victims were later rescued by the local police and some brave and alert youths of the locality who rushed them to the hospital for treatment.

Taking the matter seriously, the Rayagada police have so far arrested 20 persons following the examination of viral video footage of the inhuman attack on the victims.

–IANS

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