The incident reported to have taken place in Panikoili Police jurisdiction of Jajpur district on Friday. The local police rescued the minor girl from near Soti area on the National Highway-16.
According to sources, the accused whose identity is yet to be ascertained picked the minor girl from Padanga village near Sankhachila area and was going to an unknown location on a bicycle when some passersby spotted him.
They grew suspicious after noticing that the girl crying. When the locals asked the accused, he fled leaving the girl there.
“We spotted the man taking the girl on a bicycle. As she was crying, we raised suspicion and inquired about her from the rider. He got frightened and escaped from the spot,” said an eyewitness.
Subsequently, the locals contacted the police who then rescued the little girl from the spot.
The 12-year-old girl was reportedly kidnapped when she was going to her uncle’s place along with one of her relatives. The accused intercepted the duo and later forcibly took the girl to an isolated place under Joda Police limits and gang raped her.
Only after getting information from the relative, other family members reached the spot and launched a frantic search operation to trace the girl. As per reports, the girl was subsequently rescued in an unconscious condition after she was dumped on roadside by the miscreants.
The survivor is now battling for her life at the local hospital.
“We have registered a case in connection with the gang rape case and we have detained five persons. Further verification is on,” said DSP (Crime) Keonjhar, Suresh Chandra Patra.
The rescue of the minor girl was initiated following a directive of the Ganjam district collector Vijay Amrut Kulange.
Earlier, a lady teacher of a school in Pipili area of Puri district, where the girl was studying, had apprised Kulange through a tweet about the class-VIII student who was allegedly kidnapped and forced to marry one of her cousins Sunil Naik of Mudeskupa village.
While the statement of the police over the matter is yet to be obtained, Sunil’s father Praful Naik claimed that the marriage was solemnised after the girl’s family members gave their consent.
“Earlier the girl’s father had agreed to marry her to my son but later he told me that their marriage can be done only after the girl completes her studies. When I protested he said me that he would marry her off elsewhere. However, when I informed his wife and sons, they advised me to take the girl to my house.”
“Both my son and the girl agreed to live as husband and wife and it has been three months that the girl is staying in our house,” he added.
The minor girl, meanwhile, is now in the custody of Childline officials.
According to reports, the youth barged into the house of the girl at around 2 AM and kidnapped her in a four-wheeler. The accused also allegedly attacked the girl's grandfather when he rushed to rescue her. Besides, he also snatched the gold chain of the girl's mother.
"We woke up after my daughter raised an alarm. The youth pushed my father-in-law and attacked me. He also snatched away my gold chain from my neck," alleged the girl's mother.
The family claimed that though one youth entered the house, some of his friends were standing outside. "Some people were standing outside our house and were talking on mobile phones. The youth and his friends used to harass my daughter and were not allowing her to go to college," the girl's mother added.
Following the incident, a complaint was lodged at Adava police by the girl's mother.
Based on the complaint, police have detained a local youth, suspecting his involvement in the incident. Further efforts are on to trace the girl, police said.