CISF Jawan Arrested After College Student Allegedly Reports Rape

A 29-year-old Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan has been arrested in Odisha’s Kendujhar district after a 22-year-old college student accused him of taking her off a bus and raping her inside a hotel, police said on Saturday. A second man, alleged to have helped him, is still absconding.

The accused has been identified as Rashmi Ranjan Sethi of Mundukati village under Hatadihi block. Reports quoting police said he is posted with the CISF in Tamil Nadu. The woman, a Plus-III student of Shalapada Women’s College, and Sethi are from neighbouring villages and were known to each other, according to the source material.

Police said the incident was reported to have taken place on Thursday morning, 1 October 2026. The student had travelled with her father on a motorcycle and then boarded a bus to go to college. According to the complaint, Sethi called her off the bus and took her to a hotel near Salabani Chhak, also referred to as Salabani Square or Salabani Chowk, where she alleged he raped her.

Her mother provided a more detailed version in comments quoted by Argus News. She said her husband had dropped their daughter near the bus, after which Sethi allegedly pulled her in front of the Senapati bus and forcibly took her to a nearby hotel. She identified another person, Dhani, as having assisted in taking her daughter away. The mother said the student pleaded with the hotel manager, following which her husband was informed and the girl was brought home.

The Times of India reported that the student informed her family by phone and that her father, accompanied by another villager, reached the hotel and took her home. The family later filed a written complaint at Soso police station.

Police registered Case No. 182/26 and launched an investigation. The student underwent a medical examination on Saturday. Anandapur Sub-Divisional Police Officer Kamal Kumar Panda said the prime accused had been arrested and that efforts were continuing to trace the second accused. Earlier reports on Saturday had described Sethi as detained for questioning, but later reports confirmed his arrest. Police said he is being interrogated.

Police have not publicly disclosed the sections of law invoked in the case. The allegations remain under investigation, and the second accused has not yet been arrested. As of Sunday, no official statement from the CISF on any departmental action had been reported.