Police in the Balangir district of Odisha have arrested six minors in connection with the gang rape of a minor girl. The arrests follow the circulation of a video of the sexual assault on social media, which brought the December 27 incident last year to the attention of authorities earlier this week.
According to Balangir Sub-Inspector of Police (SP) Abhilash G, said that the incident occurred under the jurisdiction of Turkela police station were six minors allegedly gang raped a minor girl after watching adult content. He said that after they allegedly recorded the video of the sexual assault and circulated it on social media.
"After the video went viral, the police arrested six minors on the complaint of the minor's family. However, according to the complaint, all the arrested minors are known to the victim," said Abbhilash.
The officer said that the family of the victim remained silent on the matter and did not file any complaint initially out of shame, but when the video went viral a few days ago, they filed a complaint with the police station.
"The police, the child protection officer and the Child Welfare Committee investigated the matter. Their mobile phones have been seized by the police. The accused have been arrested and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board," Abbhilash said.
IG Northern Range, Himanshu Lal says, "Our police have investigated this incident properly. These minors were misguided and influenced just by the adult content on mobile and social media. This is the root of the crime. While this is a sensitive issue, it is important to keep everyone aware, and the police will also work in this direction."
The police have registered a case under Sections 66E and 67 of the Information Technology Act, which pertain to the violation of privacy and the distribution of obscene material in electronic form. The suspects were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board on Wednesday afternoon.