Who was Bitti Mohanty? Ex-IPS officer’s son convicted of raping German tourist dies of stomach cancer

Bitihotra Mohanty, known as Bitti, skipped parole in 2006 and was arrested in Kerala's Kannur where he was working at a bank with a changed identity. (File photo: PTI)

Bittihotra Mohanty, son of former Odisha Director General (Home Guards and Fire Services) Bidya Bhusan Mohanty, passed away on Monday at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar where he was undergoing treatment after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was 43.

According to hospital authorities, Mohanty, also known as Bitti, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in October last year and was undergoing treatment after being admitted a month ago.

Who was Bitti Mohanty?

Bitti, a management student at the time, was convicted of raping a German woman in 2006 in Rajasthan’s Alwar on March 21 that year. He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison for the crime by a fast-track court in a record 21 days.

The chargesheet in the case was filed on March 24, 2006, just three days after the incident, and the verdict was delivered by the fast-track court on April 12. Bitti challenged the verdict in the Rajasthan High Court. However, on October 4, the verdict was upheld by the High Court, and subsequently by the Supreme Court.

Bitti Mohanty jumps parole

Months after his conviction, Bitti Mohanty was granted a 14-day parole on November 20, 2006, to meet his ailing mother on a surety of Rs 50,000 that was deposited by his father.

However, Bitti jumped parole and remained absconding for around six years till he was arrested in Kerala’s Kannur in March 2013. The arrest was made following a complaint lodged by a bank which was in receipt of an anonymous letter informing it that one Raghav Ranjan, working for the bank as a probationary officer, was a rape convict.

Bitti’s father suspended

A 1972-batch IPS officer, Bitti’s father Bidya Bhusan Mohanty was suspended by the Odisha government in August 2007 following the issue of a non-bailable warrant by a Rajasthan court for allegedly helping his son jump parole.

Bidya Bhusan was, however, reinstated and his suspension revoked in May 2009. He retired from service in 2012.