Temple priest detained for rape attempt on minor girl in Odisha’s Cuttack 

Police on Thursday detained a person on charges of attempting to rape a minor girl on the pretext of conducting a ritual as a remedy to some alleged issues in her horoscope. The incident was reported from a village under Banki Police limits in Cuttack. 

According to the complaint lodged by the minor girl’s father, the minor was alone in the house.  Taking advantage of her being alone at home, Siba Rana, a resident of nearby Tulasipur village who was coming to the minor’s village to perform puja at a Shiva temple, visited her house. 

He asked the girl to give him some rice and show him her palm. Then he told her that she had problems with her horoscope. He then asked her to bring a plantain leaf and some flowers to conduct a ritual to end her astrological problems. When she came with the articles, Siba took her to a room, closed the door, and allegedly touched her inappropriately. As he was attempting to sexually assault her, she ran out of the room screaming and narrated her ordeal before her relatives. 

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On hearing this, her relatives and some other villagers caught Siba and tied him to a pole before informing the police. Later, a team from Banki Police reached the spot and rescued the suspect. 

The girl’s father in his complaint demanded stringent punishment for the accused and justice for her minor daughter.