PHULBANI: A 19-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Wednesday. However, the family of the accused vehemently maintained that the two were in a relationship for months.
The man was arrested on Tuesday after the girl's family filed a complaint against him for alleged abduction and rape, Bamunigaon police station's sub-inspector Amrendra Subudhi said.
According to the complaint, the man had called her over the phone to step out of the house when all family members were sleeping at night on August 30. He allegedly abducted her to Gajapati district, confined her in a lodge and raped her repeatedly.
An investigation is on, police said.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
