19-05-2025
Govt employee, teacher held for duping rape survivor of 1L
Cuttack: The commissionerate police on Monday arrested two individuals, including an employee of the Cuttack collectorate office and a woman physical education teacher of a govt-run school, for duping a 22-year-old rape survivor of Rs 1.1 lakh in Cuttack.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
The rape survivor lodged a complaint at Lalbagh police station on Saturday. Police said the victim, who was a minor during the 2020 gang rape incident, received Rs 5 lakh as compensation through the district legal services authority following a court directive. She was given the first instalment of Rs 3.75 lakh earlier this year.
The accused were identified as Amiya Kumar Sahoo (45), an office assistant at the district welfare office in the collectorate, and Sangita Singh (38), a teacher at Janata Nodal Bidyapitha in Cuttack.
"The duo conspired to extort money from the woman. Sangita Singh posed as a staff member of the collectorate and coerced her into paying Rs 1.1 lakh, claiming it was necessary to avoid deductions from the compensation amount," Cuttack DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo said.
Singh shared the rape survivor's details with the syndicate, following which the latter made three separate transactions through an UPI payment app to different accounts as instructed by her.
"The rape survivor transferred Rs 1.1 lakh to release the rest of the compensation amount," Khilari added.
Despite repeated requests for clarity, the accused avoided the victim, switched off their mobile phones, and ultimately misappropriated the funds, informed Khilari.
"The duo has been arrested and we have seized four mobile phones and screenshots of WhatsApp chats and internet banking transactions of the accounts," he added. "Further investigation is underway to know the details of the officials and any link to other rackets in the case. We also urge people to contact the police in case of any such instances," he said.
