Odisha Police Rescues Woman Lost In Forest After Escaping Alleged Rape Attempt Using Drones

Odisha Police rescued a woman from a reserve forest near Bhubaneswar after she allegedly escaped an attempted rape and became stranded inside the forest, with drones, flare guns and rocket fireworks used to locate and guide her to safety. The woman was rescued on Sunday following a large-scale search operation involving around 50 police personnel.

According to police officials, the woman had taken a lift on a motorcycle from Khurda bus stand when the rider allegedly took her towards Ratanpur Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar with an intention to sexually assault her.

Police said the accused allegedly attempted to rape the woman, but she resisted and fought back. She then managed to escape and ran into the forest, where she later lost her way while trying to get away from the accused.

The woman, however, managed to contact police using her mobile phone and informed them that she was trapped inside the forest. A rescue operation was immediately launched by teams from Infovalley, Jatani and Khandagiri police stations under the leadership of the ACP (Zone III).

Police officials said tracing her location was challenging as the GPS feature on her mobile phone was disabled by default, preventing authorities from getting her exact coordinates. To overcome the difficulty, police deployed drones along with flare guns and rocket fireworks to help the woman identify the rescue team's position.

After the coordinated operation, the woman was safely brought out of the forest. The use of drones helped police search the difficult terrain and establish contact with the woman during the rescue mission.

Police said the woman was initially hesitant to register a complaint but later agreed after counselling. A case of attempt to rape has been registered at the Infovalley police station, and the accused has been arrested.

The motorcycle allegedly used during the incident has also been seized, and further investigation is underway to gather more evidence and establish the sequence of events.