Coaching centre owner arrested for sexual abuse of minor

Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police has arrested a 38-year-old man on charges of sexually abusing a minor student in Bhubaneswar, said a police official on Tuesday. The accused was identified as Niranjan Mishra of Mancheswar police station area of Bhubaneswar city. The victim, an undergraduate student at a local college, allegedly came into contact with the accused, who runs a coaching centre in Saheed Nagar area of the city, a couple of months ago. According to the complaint, Mishra allegedly established a relationship with the minor girl and induced her to believe they were married by applying ‘sindoor’ on her forehead at a temple.

Thereafter, they lived together in his house. Following a dispute, the victim approached the police and lodged a complaint. Acting on the complaint, the Bhubaneswar Mahila police station launched an investigation and registered a case under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). He was arrested on Tuesday and forwarded to court, which later sent him to judicial custody. Notably, in another case of sexual abuse, two persons were arrested earlier this month for allegedly raping a woman at a beauty parlour in Bhubaneswar on the pretext of providing her a job. The accused, a 51-year-old beauty parlour owner and his 52-year-old staff member, were apprehended after the woman lodged a complaint at Khandagiri police station.