Paradip, 25 July

Police have arrested two brothers in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district for allegedly raping a girl a 15-year-old girl and then attempted to bury her alive after she became five months pregnant, an officer said on Friday.

According to the complaint lodged by the victim's father at Kujang police station, the two brothers, identified as Bhagyadhar Das, 60, and Panchanan Das, 58, had allegedly raped the minor for the last one year, and now she is seven months pregnant.

The accused brothers were working at a mutt (ashram), which the minor frequently visits, the officer said.

The father also alleged that, although he initially reported the matter to a local panchayat functionary, the functionary offered him money to suppress the incident and even threatened him if he reported the matter to the police.

A case was registered against three persons under sections of rape and POCSO Act. Two brothers were arrested on Thursday, while the third accused Tulu, was absconding, said Tirtol SDPO Chinmay Raut.

According to the police, the accused raped the minor multiple times over an extended period. When they discovered her pregnancy, they allegedly attempted to bury her alive to conceal their crime.

The incident came to light barely four days after the gang rape of an 18-year-old woman in Jagatsinghpur district. The victim was currently under treatment at the district headquarters hospital in critical condition.