Bitihotra "Bitti" Mohanty (died 11 August 2024) was an Indian computer engineer and convict[1] sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for raping a German tourist at Alwar, India. After being released on parole to visit his ailing mother at Cuttack, Orissa on 20 November 2006, he absconded from custody. He was arrested again from Kannur in Kerala, on Saturday, 9 March 2013.[2][3][4]
Bitty Mohanty | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bitihotra Mohanty |
| Died | 11 August 2024 Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Other names | Bitti, Bitty, Raghav Rajan |
| Occupation | Employee |
| Years active | 2006–2024 |
| Known for | Rape of German national |
His case was one of the quickest rape trials conducted by a fast-track court; the trial was completed within 15 days of lodging the complaint.[5] The parole was granted within 8 months of his conviction.[3] His father, Bidya Bhushan Mohanty (B.B. Mohanty), an Indian Police Service officer, stood as surety for his son's 15 days' parole and was subsequently suspended and arrested on the charges of helping, hiding and harbouring his son.[2][3] He was later reinstated into service in 2009 and retired in 2012.[6] Six years after his son's disappearance, the father expressed ignorance about his son's whereabouts and asserted that his son did not commit any major crime.[3]
A.S. Gill (the Director General of Police of Rajasthan) and B.B. Mohanty were batch mates, and it was alleged that the investigation was slowed down due to intervention of high-ranking officials.[6] The investigating parole officer was transferred abruptly on 29 May 2007, and this hampered a speedy investigation.[6]
Father
editBitty Mohanty's father, an Indian Police Service officer had petitioned the National Human Rights Commission and the Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission, stating his son needed urgent medical treatment and should not be arrested.[7] He established he found out about his son's ill health through communication with other inmates.[7] The convict's father also argued that the German lady and his son were intimate and had been living together. Bitti was the elder of two children of Mr. and Mrs. Mohanty.[7]
Disappearance
editMohanty was charged with raping of a German national on 21 March 2006. The German lady and Bitti Mohanty were on a holiday in Rajasthan and took a hotel room at Alwar on 20 March 2006. He was convicted on 12 April 2006 by a fast-track court and police from Odisha and Rajasthan failed to find him there.[6]
Chief Minister of Rajasthan assured that police were trying to trace Bitty Mohanty by forming special teams, as he was considered a high-profile convict.[1] However, after seven years of the convict's disappearance, the Rajasthani government stated that it had done all that was possible to arrest Bitty Mohanty.[8]
Arrest
editMohanty was arrested from Kannur in Kerala, 9 March 2013.[9] Police got information of Bitti by anonymous letter received by the bank branch authorities where he was working as Raghav Rajan from Andhra Pradesh, suspecting that the man may be Bitti. His photo was shown among the pictures of accused sex crimes running on television and Internet, which helped to identify him. He was working in a Bank in the name of Raghav Rajan.[9][10]
Death
editMohanty died on 11 August 2024 while undergoing treatment of stomach cancer at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b PTI (1 January 2010). "Rajasthan Police will try to arrest Bitty Mohanty : CM". Zeenews. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Mohanty surrenders in Jaipur". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Where is Bitti Mohanty?". The Times of India, Times Now. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ "Has Navin Patnaik forgotten Bitti case?". The Times of India, Times Now. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ Garg, Abhinav (4 January 2013). "Rape trials shouldn't take more than 15-20 days". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d Rakesh Dixit, Sudhanshu Mishra (3 January 2012). "Accused of raping a german woman, man still at large after six years". India Today. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ^ a b c PTI (20 December 2006). "Rajasthan police arrives in Cuttack to look for rape convict". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ^ "Bitti Mohanty case: Raj Govt evades responsibility". The Times of India - Times Now. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Rape convict Bitti Mohanty arrested in Kerala, remanded". 9 March 2013.
- ^ "'Raghav Rajan' is indeed Bitti Mohanty". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 15 March 2013.
- ^ Bisoyi, Sujit (12 August 2024). "Bitti Mohanty, ex-IPS officer's son convicted in 2006 rape of German woman, dies". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 August 2024.