Kendrapara, Dec. 14: A 17-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly gang raped in Marshaghai police limits of the district, police said today. The incident has triggered public outrage. The victim was allegedly assaulted on Thursday but her parents, who hail from Daanramuda village, lodged an FIR today.

Three offenders raped the victim by turns, police said quoting the complaint. The victim was medically examined and her statement has been recorded. There is corroborative evidence of sexual assault on the girl, said Kendrapara superintendent of police Rabi Narayan Behera, adding that the accused were on the run and raids are being conducted to nab them.

Some villagers were trying to suppress the incident and attempting to reach a compromise with the victim’s family. The family was being pressured not to lodge an FIR, said inspector of Marshaghai police station Sukanta Kumar Patra.

Assault charge

A 35-year-old woman of Nadigaon village in Bhadrak district alleged that she had been raped by a group of goons last Saturday. The victim, who claimed that she was raped in front of her husband, has named the Dhamnagar block chairman and four others in her complaint to the police on December 11.