Patna, Oct. 8: Bettiah police today nabbed one of the four youths accused of outraging the modesty of a minor girl at Dhumnagar Naya Tola village under Sikarpur police station in the small hours of Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team conducted a raid and arrested Mohammad Israfil from his hideout in Narkatiyaganj sub-division.

However, his three associates, identified as Chhotu, Mohammad Lucky and Mohammad Shamshad, are still absconding.

The victim told the police that four youths entered her residence after breaking open the gate late on Wednesday night. She was alone in the house at the time of the incident.

“My brother had gone to the fair that is organised in the village on Dussehra,” she said.

The 12-year-old girl, who belongs to Other Backward Classes (OBC), was forcibly picked up by the youths and taken to a secluded place, where they allegedly raped her taking turns.

“I fell unconscious after they administered me with sedative injections,” she stated to the police.

She returned home after regaining consciousness and narrated the entire incident to her relatives, who initially tried to settle the matter at a meeting of panchayat members. The matter was reported to the police only when their attempts fizzled out.

“The girl has been sent for medical examination. The report is awaited,” said the sub-divisional police officer of Narkatiyaganj, Mohammad Abdullah.

He said raids on being conducted to arrest the other accused in the case.

The residents of the sub-division are shocked over the incident. “This is the second incident of gangrape in the area in the past two weeks,” said a local resident. A teenaged girl was raped at Araria Barwa village in the last week of September. A spurt in the incidents of crime against women has worried the residents of the region.

Suicide bid

A 22-year-old girl tried to commit suicide by jumping into river Ganga from Mahatma Gandhi Setu this morning. The victim, Vineeta Kumari, was, however, saved by some boatmen.

Vineeta, the daughter of an employee of the health department, has been admitted to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital for treatment. She reportedly decided to take the extreme step after being scolded by her parents.

The police said the girl’s parents, who are residents of Gulzarbagh, have been apprised of the safe recovery of Vineeta, who recently completed her training in auxiliary nursing midwife.