A corporator of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, belonging to the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD), was booked by police on Thursday on charges of raping a girl, police said.
The case was registered at Laxmisagar police station based on a complaint filed by the survivor on Wednesday.
Police confirmed that the corporator has been charged under various sections of the BNS, including Section 64(2) for rape, Section 89 for causing a miscarriage without the woman’s consent, Section 296 for obscene acts, and Section 352 for criminal intimidation.
Additionally, Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been invoked, indicating that the alleged incidents occurred while the survivor was a minor.
The survivor, now 19 years old, underwent a medical examination at Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar.
In her complaint, she alleged that the corporator engaged in a physical relationship with her under a “false promise” of marriage, leading to her pregnancy when she was still a minor.
She further alleged that the corporator forced her into terminating the pregnancy, promising marriage after he obtained a divorce from his wife.
“When I asked him to marry me, he threatened and asked me to leave Bhubaneswar,” she claimed.
As of Thursday, the corporator has not been arrested. The BJD party is yet to issue a statement on the matter.
This incident follows another high-profile arrest earlier this week, where Udit Pradhan, the state president of the NSUI (National Students’ Union of India), was arrested on charges of raping an engineering student. Pradhan has since been suspended from his position.
