The prime accused in the case of a 1999 gangrape of the wife of a former Indian Forest Officer, which led to the resignation of then Odisha chief minister JB Patnaik, was arrested from Maharashtra, PTI reported on Monday, quoting the police.
Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Sudhansu Sarangi said that Bibekananda Biswal alias Biban, one of the three accused in the gangrape case, was arrested from Amby Valley in Lonavala where he was working as a plumber using a fake identity. The accused identified himself as Jalandhar Swain.
Three people – Biswal, Dhirendra Mohanty and Pradeep Sahu – had gangraped the woman on January 9, 1999, according to The Hindu. While Sahu and Mohanty were caught on January 26 of the same year, and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2002, Biswal was absconding for over 22 years. This incident along with the murder of Christian missionary Graham Staines in the same year led to the then Odisha chief minister’s resignation, according to The…