Jajpur: A woman from Delhi was allegedly manhandled by two local youths at Tarangasagarpur village under Dasarathpur police station in Jajpur district on Sunday evening.
The victim has been identified as Puja, was visiting her friend Tapaswini Das at the time of the incident.
According to Tapaswini Das, she had traveled from Delhi to her native village to observe her father’s first death anniversary (Varsi) on June 21.
On June 22, Puja accompanied her to tour Odisha. They planned to visit ‘Biraja Peetha’ before returning home by bus. Tapaswini narrated that while waiting at the local bus stand around 9.30 pm, she called her brother to pick them up. Upon arrival, two youths seated under a banyan tree—Raju (her brother’s childhood friend) and Nitesh (a younger local) started harassing them. Nitesh allegedly used abusive language and when Tapaswini confronted him, he continued the verbal assault.
The situation escalated as the youths reportedly manhandled Tapaswini, Puja. The victims managed to escape and rushed home safely.
“We demand justice because today it happened to us, but tomorrow it could happen to others. Puja came with me trusting me, yet she faced this ordeal. If no action is taken, who else will be safe here?” Tapaswini said, expressing her frustration over the police’s delayed response.
An FIR was lodged around 11 pm on June 22, but according to the victims, no progress has been made so far.
“If such incidents happened in Delhi, the accused would have been arrested immediately. Here, despite identifying the accused, no action has been taken yet,” Puja added.
The victims urged the police to take strict action to ensure the safety of women visiting the region.
When contacted, Jajpur SDPO Prashant Kumar Majhi confirmed that an investigation is underway.
“The accused fled the area after the incident. Efforts are on to nab them and they will be dealt with according to law,” he said.
