Man held for raping tribal girl in Odisha

A man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping a 13-year-old tribal girl in Belghar area of Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said.

The 20-year-old man was held for kidnapping and raping the minor girl, a student of Class 7, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Belghar Police station, Dasarath Hembram, said.

The arrest was made on the basis of a complaint lodged by the father of the girl on Saturday, he said, adding, medical examination of the accused and the minor have been conducted.

Though the incident took place in the last week of December, the FIR was filed late as some villagers were trying to "work out a compromise" but failed, police said.

Both hailed from Talangi village under the jurisdiction of Belghar police station and were known to each other, they said.