Oriya actor held in sexual abuse case

Controversial BJD leader and Oriya cine actor Papu Pom Pom alias Tatwa Prakash Satpathy, who is facing casting couch allegation levelled against him by a 15-year-old girl, has finally been arrested. A special team constituted by Bhubaneswar commissionerate of police arrested him from Puri.

“On Thursday morning, we located Tatwa Prakash Satpathy and his associate Pradipta Swain from Neelachal Apartment in Puri. They were taken into custody and declared arrested in the evening after interrogation,” commissioner of police Y.B. Khurania said. The commissioner of police said they accused would be produced in the court later in the evening and, if required, the police would seek their demand for further interrogation. The Orissa police was under tremendous pressure from the Congress and BJP to arrest the actor-turned-politician.

The BJP had given 12 hours to arrest Papu Pom Pom. After the expiry of the deadline, the saffron party’s women wing gheraoed the Mahila Police station in the state capital. On Wednesday, the BJD president and chief minister Naveen Patnaik had expelled Papu from the primary membership of the party.

Papu’s rise in the BJD has surprised many, including the veterans of the regional party.

In 2014 Assembly elections, overlooking claims of many senior leaders of the BJD, party chief Naveen Patnaik had given him ticket to contest from Keonjhar district’s Champua seat under which the country’s richest iron ore mines are located.

He was made the BJD’s star campaigner and given a helicopter to canvas for the party.

A case of sexual harassment was on Tuesday registered against Papu and his aide on Tuesday following a direction of Child Welfare Committee which found prima facie evidence in the victim’s allegation.