JEYPORE: Police on Monday arrested a youth on charges of sexually exploiting a 13-year-old girl in a village of Koraput district.
The accused, 22-year-old Judhistira Gouda of Batabaiguda village, was on the run for the past six months, said police.
According to reports, the girl’s mother filed a complaint in Jeypore Mahila police station on September 20, 2025 alleging that Gouda first approached the girl during Ganesh Puja festival in 2024. Two days after the festival, the accused allegedly took the girl to nearby Budaraja temple and sexually assaulted her. Subsequently, Gouda continued to visit the girl’s village and sexually abused her on multiple occasions, stated the complaint.
On September 3, 2025, the accused reportedly took the girl to the same temple in the night and sexually abused her. The next morning, Gouda abandoned her and fled the spot, said police.
Following the incident, a meeting was convened in the village to resolve the matter, but the accused allegedly refused to take any responsibility of the girl.
Mahila police then registered a case against Gouda on basis of the complaint filed by the girl’s mother. However, the accused absconded from the village.
Police received information that the accused had returned to Batabaiguda village. A police team raided his house and arrested him on Monday. He was produced in court, said IIC of Jeypore Mahila police station Ashrita Xalxo.