Kendrapara, Aug 10: Police on Sunday arrested the boyfriend of the college girl in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, who allegedly took her own life by self-immolation after her repeated pleas for justice went unheard.
The prime accused, Pramod Behera of Teroi village under Bilikana panchayat in Kendrapara district, was initially detained by police in Chennai yesterday for questioning in connection with the case.
Police have reportedly recovered around 50 obscene videos on his mobile phone. Behera has been arrested under Sections 296, 75, 78, and 108 of the BNS, as well as Sections 66-E and 67-A of the IT Act.
Earlier in the day, he was booked under Sections 296, 75, 78, and 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 66-E and 67-A of the Information Technology Act on the basis of an FIR lodged by the victim’s father.
According to the police, Pramod had spoken to the girl shortly before the incident. On July 17, he sent an obscene video of her to her father and also shared it with two other individuals, intending to make it go viral.
It is worth noting that the victim, a 20-year-old Plus 3 final year student of Pattamundai College, died after reportedly setting herself on fire after pouring kerosene in her house at Badapada village on August 6.
Shortly after the girl’s death, her father alleged that she had been under intense mental stress due to ongoing blackmail by her male friend. The family also alleged that the accused had been exploiting her for months.
He also claimed that she had approached Pattamundai Rural Police Station six months ago to file a complaint about the harassment.
However, the police allegedly failed to register a case based on her complaint. Instead, a police official reportedly advised the college girl to block her male friend’s phone number to avoid further harassment.
