<strong>Balasore:</strong> A newlywed woman was allegedly raped by her neighbor after he intoxicated her husband at Baliaapal village under Jaleswar police station in Balasore district on Saturday. According to the victim’s husband’s elder brother, the accused had earlier assured the woman that he would help rectify errors in her Aadhaar card. Under the pretext of assisting them, he took the couple to Singla market on his motorcycle. At the market, he asked the woman to wait while he took her husband along and forced him to consume liquor, rendering him heavily intoxicated. "While returning to the village, the accused dragged my young sister-in-law to a secluded area and raped her," the elder brother alleged. He further stated that the accused later abandoned both the woman and her husband in their village before fleeing the scene. As the victim’s condition was critical, she was initially taken to Singla for treatment before being shifted to Balasore District Headquarters Hospital (DHH). Upon receiving the information, police reached the spot and launched an investigation. "We are sending the victim for medical examination. The accused is absconding, but efforts are underway to apprehend him at the earliest," said Jaleswar SDPO Dilip Sahoo.
