In a shocking case from Odisha’s Gajapati district, a group of women allegedly killed a 60-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting multiple women in their village and later burned his body to erase evidence. The brutal incident occurred on the night of June 3, when the man allegedly raped a 52-year-old widow, triggering an act of collective revenge by survivors of his past crimes. Ten people, including eight women and two men, have been arrested in connection with the Odisha rape accused murder case, according to police officials.
Following a missing person complaint filed by the accused’s family, police launched a search and later recovered bones and ashes from a forested hillock about 2 km from the village. Mohana police station in-charge, Basant Sethi, confirmed that the man was hacked to death while he slept, and his body was subsequently burned by the group. A village ward member is also among the ten arrested for their alleged role in this violent act of retribution.
The group of women—most of them survivors of repeated sexual assault by the deceased—allegedly convened a meeting after the June 3 incident and resolved to take justice into their own hands. The 52-year-old widow, the most recent victim, is said to have struck the first blow, with others joining in to ensure the act was completed. Two local men also assisted in the crime, which the women described as the only way to stop the accused’s continued abuse.
According to Gajapati SP Jatindra Kumar Panda, the women had never filed any police complaint against the man, who had been sexually preying on women in the village since becoming a widower four years ago. At least six of the arrested women revealed they had been sexually assaulted by the deceased, prompting widespread discussion on the lack of legal recourse and the failure of the system to protect vulnerable women in rural Odisha.
