Bhubaneswar: Police investigating the alleged rape of a woman at gunpoint in Bhubaneswar’s Nayapalli area have recovered a toy gun, six mobile phones and other articles allegedly linked to the accused, an official said on Tuesday.
The articles were recovered during further investigation into Nayapalli Police Station Case No. 801, registered on October 1, police said.
The case was initially registered under Section 64(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 25/27 of the Arms Act. The charges have since been altered to include Sections 64(1), 332(b) and 351(3) of the BNS, police said.
According to police, the accused, Santosh alias Sreedhar Panda (24), a resident of Ganjam district, had left his mother and some belongings at the house of a distant relative in Jagatsinghpur after the alleged incident.
On October 5, the relative, accompanied by Panda’s mother, appeared at Nayapalli Police Station and handed over the articles allegedly kept by the accused in his bag, police said.
The seized articles include a sky-blue half-sleeved T-shirt, a red towel, six mobile phones and a silver-and-black toy gun.
The recovery of the toy gun assumes significance as the accused allegedly threatened the woman with what she believed to be a firearm during the incident, police said.
Panda was allegedly staying in Chakeisiani under the jurisdiction of Mancheswar police in Bhubaneswar.
According to the complaint, Panda allegedly entered the rented accommodation of a woman in Nayapalli during the night of September 30 and raped her while threatening her with what she believed to be a gun.
The woman, who works as an engineer at a private company, was reportedly alone at the time of the alleged incident.
Following the complaint, Commissionerate Police formed multiple teams to trace the accused. Investigators examined footage from around 300 CCTV cameras and analysed technical data to identify and track him, police said.
Panda was later traced to the Chandaka area of Bhubaneswar.
During an attempt to arrest him on October 3, he allegedly attacked a police officer with a screwdriver, following which police fired two rounds in self-defence, according to police.
Panda sustained a bullet injury to his right leg and was subsequently taken to a hospital.
Police said Panda had previously been booked in criminal cases registered at Khandagiri and Tamando police stations in Bhubaneswar.
The investigation into the Nayapalli case is underway and further legal action will be taken as per law, police said.
