Odisha: Panchayat official arrested for coercing SHG women to show and film moles

A 25-year-old employee of a gram panchayat in Odisha's Kendrapara district was arrested on Friday for allegedly coercing around a dozen women members of self-help groups (SHGs) to expose and allow video recording of pigmented nevi (moles) on sensitive parts of their bodies, under the pretext of paying Rs 1,000 per mole.

Pigmented nevi (moles) are growths on the skin that usually are flesh-coloured, brown or black. The accused, Somyaranjan Samal, a master bookkeeper (MBK), reportedly told the women that the videos were part of a medical documentation scheme. In the SHG system, an MBK is responsible for maintaining financial records and is appointed by the gram panchayat.

An FIR was lodged on June 7 by Kalpana Samal, president of the Ma Budhi Kankei SHG in Tentulikoli village, under Rajkanika police station limits.

Following the complaint, police registered a case against Samal under Section 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to acts intended to insult a woman's modesty. He reportedly fled the village soon after the complaint was filed.

After more than a month, Samal was arrested on Friday from Chandanpur village in Cuttack district, under Nemal police station limits. He was produced in court, which rejected his bail plea, and was subsequently sent to jail, said inspector-in-charge Sanjay Kumar Mallick of Rajkanika police station.

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