Friend tied up, woman gang-raped during beach outing in Odisha, 8 detained

A 20-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped in front of her male friend at a beach in Odisha's Ganjam district, officials said on Tuesday.

According to the complaint filed by the survivor, she and her friend had gone to the Gopalpur sea beach to celebrate the Raja festival on Sunday evening and were sitting at a secluded spot when around 10 men arrived on three motorcycles.

The group allegedly began taking photographs of the two and threatened to leak them online. They then attacked the man, tied his hands, and dragged the woman to an abandoned house nearby where three of them allegedly took turns raping her.

After the ordeal, the survivor and her friend reached the Gopalpur police station and reported the incident. Police immediately began investigations and visited the crime scene.

"So far, eight people have been detained in connection with the case. The accused are all adults and are being interrogated. We are not ruling out the involvement of others," Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M told reporters.

"Medical examinations of the survivor and all suspects are being conducted. The survivour's condition is stable," he added.

Police sources said a manhunt is on for others possibly involved, and further investigation into the matter is underway.