Minor girl rapes on rise in Odisha: 7-year-old raped in K'para

Kendrapara/Keonjhar: In yet another incident of sexual assault against minor girls, a seven-year-old girl of Derabish area in Kendrapara district was allegedly raped by a person of nearby Haladia village on May 23.

The incident came to the fore after a complaint was lodged against accused Mihir Kumar Singh at the Derabish police station last night.

Police immediately swung into action and arrested Singh from Haldia village in Tangi and is interrogating him, sources said.

As per the complaint, the 7-year-old was playing with her brother and sister near a pump house in the village when Singh, who was reportedly in an inebriated state, lured them with Rs 4, Rs 10 and Rs 5 respectively. While the other two were playing, Singh took the 7-year-old inside the pump house and sexually assaulted her.

Later, all three returned home and informed their family about the incident who instead of lodging a complaint tried to solve the matter in the village itself. However, they were forced to lodge a complaint with the police last night after failing to solve it in the village.

“The minor girl has been sent for medical examination while the statements of other two siblings have been recorded under 164 CrPC. The accused has been detained and further investigation into the incident is on,” said a police official.

In another incident in Keonjhar, the Telkoi police today arrested a youth for allegedly attempting to rape a minor girl in her house.

As per sources, the girl was sleeping when the accused, identified as Arakhyita Nayak of Bena village, barged inside in an inebriated state and allegedly tried to rape her. The family members lodged a complaint with the police following which the accused was arrested from his village.