15-day custody for rape accused

Bhubaneswar: Bitrihotra Mohanti, the son of a top Orissa police officer, has been remanded in 15 days’ judicial custody in connection with the rape of a German tourist in Alwar, reports our correspondent.

Acquaintances of the 22-year-old management student, who was arrested on Tuesday and is said to have confessed to having sex with the woman, said they knew him to be “sober, disciplined and well-behaved”.

The victim returned to Delhi on Wednesday, accompanied by a compatriot. Alwar additional superintendent of police Ramdeo Singh said a German man had requested the police to allow him to escort her. Singh added that they would file the chargesheet after the forensic science laboratory’s report is received.

Bitrihotra’s father Bidya Bhusan Mohanti, who is Orissa’s additional director-general of police, insisted that his son was not guilty. “Forget the charges of drinking liquor, he has never touched it in his life. He never even had a girlfriend,” he said over phone.

The Institute for Integrated Learning in Management in New Delhi, where Bitrihotra is a first-year student, stonewalled questions. But the staff at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, from where he graduated in 2005 with a B.Tech degree in computer science, expressed shock.

enkat Sastry, the dean of students’ welfare, said: “I have known him for four years and can say that he was a good boy. He was a member of the college’s disciplinary committee and even helped out during the campus placements last year. I am at a loss to understand his change in behaviour in just one year. It’s a bolt from the blue.”

Administrative officials at the institute described Bitrihotra as everyone’s favourite. “He won the best volunteer award last year,” one said.

Maoist attack

Raipur: Targeting the National Mineral Development Corporation for the third time in two months, Maoists triggered six blasts at installations of the iron ore producer in Dantewada district on Tuesday night.

The rebels also blew up part of an Essar pipeline, used to carry iron ore from Kirandul to Visakhapatnam, affecting transportation operations.

Rath petition

New Delhi (PTI): A public interest litigation has been filed in Delhi High Court seeking a ban on the twin rath yatras of BJP leader L.K. Advani and party chief Rajnath singh. The petition was filed by the vice-president of Haryana Yadav Mahasabha, Dharamvir Yadav.

Militant brother

Madurai (PTI): A brother of an accomplice of slain militant Imam Ali was arrested for allegedly writing a series of anonymous letters threatening to blow up trains in Tamil Nadu.

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