JAJPUR: A 57-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping an eight-year-old girl at a village within Bari-Ramachandrapur police limits of Jajpur district on October 23.
Police identified the accused as Arakhita Parida, a neighbour of the victim.
As per the complaint filed by the victim’s mother, Parida had reportedly lured her daughter by promising to show her a mongoose at his house and allegedly raped her. After returning home, she fell sick and was unstable. She was rushed to Bari-Ramachandrapur community health centre (CHC) by her family where she narrated the entire ordeal to her mother.
Acting on the complaint, police registered a case and began investigation into the matter. They detained Parida’s family members for interrogation. However, the accused who was at large after committing the crime, was eventually caught hiding at the house of one medicine shop owner in Pattamundai in the wee hours of Sunday.
“We have arrested the accused and conducted his medical examination at the hospital,” said Jajpur SP Yash Pratap Shrimal.
The victim is currently undergoing treatment in the ICU of SCB medical college and hospital, where she was shifted from the CHC after her condition worsened.