Paralakhemundi: The husband of a woman Sarpanch was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping a minor girl several times and making her pregnant in Adaba area of Odisha’s Gajapati district.
According to reports, police registered a case under Pocso Act against accused Manas Mandal after the father of the 14-year-old girl lodged a complaint on Saturday accusing him of raping his daughter for which she has become pregnant.
Acting on the complaint, the police probed the matter and arrested the 38-year-old Mandal, father of three children and husband of Adaba Sarpanch, they said,
Steps have been taken for conducting the medical test of the girl to ascertain her pregnancy, they said, adding that the accused had raped the class IX girl several times when she was alone at home.
The girl did not disclose the incident to her parents earlier due to fear of social stigma. The accused has also threatened her of dire consequences if she disclosed it to anyone.
However, she told her parents about her ordeal after she started feeling sick around a fortnight ago. It was found that she had become pregnant. Thereafter, her father lodged an FIR with Adaba police on Saturday and the accused was arrested.
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