JAJPUR: Binjharpur police on Friday arrested a 56-year-old man for allegedly raping a minor girl in Sayeedpur area here. The accused was identified as Sheikh Besarat of Piramahalla village. The nine-year-old victim has been admitted to the district headquarters hospital (DHH) and her condition is critical.
Sources said the alleged crime took place on Wednesday night. As per the complaint lodged by the girl’s father with police, the minor was last seen playing with her friends on the river bank near her house in the evening. When she did not return home till night, family members launched a frantic search but failed to trace her.
When her friends were asked, one of them informed the worried family members that they were returning home after playing when accused Besarat came on a bike and took the victim on his motorcycle on the pretext of buying her chocolate from the market.
The girl’s family members then reached the accused’s house and found it locked from inside. When no one responded despite repeated knocks on the door, they broke into the house and found the girl inside. Local villagers caught hold of the accused and handed him over to police the same night.
As the girl had sustained critical injuries, she was rushed to the local hospital and later shifted to the DHH.
Her father lodged a complaint on Thursday morning basing on which police registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC and POCSO Act. Jajpur SP Rahul PR and a scientific team visited the crime spot for investigation. Besarat was produced in court after his medical examination. He was remanded in judicial custody after his bail plea was rejected, police said.