The National Commission for Women (NCW) has intervened in the case of a 22-year-old woman intern who was assaulted, molested, and publicly stripped in Rayagada district, Odisha, on June 16. This incident occurred due to false rumors of child kidnappers, as reported by media outlets. The NCW has condemned the act and demanded an Action Taken Report (ATR) from the Odisha Director General of Police within seven days.
The NCW has requested specific details from the DGP, including information on the FIR, the legal provisions applied under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the progress of the investigation, arrests made, actions taken against rumor-mongers, medical care and counseling provided to the survivor, safety measures for NGO workers and interns, and strategies to prevent mob violence through community policing and awareness campaigns. Human rights activists have also approached the National Human Rights Commission seeking an independent inquiry into the incident.
According to the police, the victims, who were NGO workers, were mistaken for child-lifters while traveling from Daringbadi to Thuamul-Rampur via Kalyansinghpur. Villagers in Kandulaguda village suspected them, leading to rumors spreading rapidly in nearby areas. Subsequently, the victims were attacked by a mob at Sainagar, with over a hundred people participating in the assault.
The victims were eventually rescued by local police and residents who took them to the hospital for treatment. The Rayagada police have arrested 20 individuals in connection with the incident after reviewing video evidence of the attack.
