Jajpur, Aug. 9: A woman has alleged molestation, confinement and torture by a jewellery shop owner at Haripurhat market in Jajpur when she had visited his shop to exchange gold ornaments.
The woman’s nephew was present when the incident occurred yesterday.
A case has been registered against the jewellery shop owner, identified as Tukuna Patra, 36, with Kuakhia police station. Tukuna has fled from the area to avoid arrest.
Saraswati Parida, 34, of Benipur-Nereda with Kuakhia police in Bhadrak, had purchased some ornaments from Patra Jewellery Shop.
Saraswati, along with her 27-year-old nephew, Susanta, went to the shop to buy a new one in exchange of the purchased ornament.
“After I showed the receipt of the earlier purchased item, Patra started showing me several other items. However, I did not like any of the ornaments he was showing. Suddenly he started shouting at me, saying that one ornament was missing,” said Saraswati.
“When we denied the allegation, he locked us in a room. In the presence of my nephew, the shop owner frisked me. He confined us for five hours. He shouted at me, used filthy languages and threatened to do more physical harm. A police team rescued us around 7.30pm,” she said.
“Reaching the shop we had made a thorough check of the victim by a woman sub-inspector and her nephew by a police team, but found nothing. Then we inquired into the matter and found the stock to be intact. No item was missing. We found the woman’s allegation to be true. During the search, the shop owner managed to slip from there,” said inspector in charge of Kuakhia police station Bijaya Kumar Aich. A case under sections 294, 342, 323 and 354 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against Tukuna on the basis of the complaint.