Laxmisagar police on Saturday arrested a youth politician from the Niali area on charges of sexually assaulting and beating an actress under the pretext of recruiting her for a proposed ₹10 crore Jatra (folk theatre) troupe.
The accused has been identified as Sashikant Lenka, alias Alok, a native of Niali in Kataka district who was currently residing at Ganganagar under Capital Police limits in Bhubaneswar. The survivor, who lodged the formal complaint, also hails from Kataka.
According to Laxmisagar Police Station IIC P. Shyam Sundar Rao, the accused previously belonged to a national political party before joining the state’s ruling party recently. Leveraging political influence, Lenka reportedly amassed rapid wealth through illegal sand mining in the local area.
Flush with funds, Lenka was planning to launch a major Jatra party with an investment of ₹10 crore and had contacted the victim regarding artist recruitment for the project.
Police revealed that Lenka took the actress to various places across the state under this pretext and subjected her to forced physical relations. The ordeal escalated recently when the victim was staying at a hotel in the Bomikhal area of Bhubaneswar. Lenka allegedly entered her room late at night in an inebriated state, brutally assaulted her physically, and raped her. He also issued death threats, warning her against reporting the matter to the police.
Following the incident, the actress lodged a written complaint with the Laxmisagar police. Authorities immediately registered a rape case, subjected the survivor to a medical examination, and launched an investigation.
Lenka, who had gone into hiding following the police complaint, was tracked down and arrested from his Ganganagar residence on Saturday, confirmed IIC Rao. Further legal proceedings and investigation are underway.
