Balasore: Three incidents of rape were reported from Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts on Thursday.

Two incidents took place at a village in Rairangpur block in Mayurbhanj, while another incident occurred in Nilgiri block of Balasore.

Mayurbhanj police arrested a 45-year-old man for raping a deaf-and-mute girl. The accused, Jagdish Giri of Hatia village, was later forwarded to court. Giri allegedly committed the offence when the girl had gone to take bath in a village pond. The accused forcibly took her to a nearby culvert and raped her there. Local residents caught him and handed him over to the police.

In another case, a 23-year-old man raped a minor girl in Gorumahisani police station area in Mayurbhanj. The accused, Bhamara Tiria, a resident of Bheludihi village in Guhaladangiri gram panchayat area raped the minor when her parents were not at home.

"In both the cases, the accused persons have been arrested and forwarded to court. In one case, a deaf-and-mute girl was raped, whereas in another case a 15-year-old girl was raped," said Mayurbhanj police superintendent Awinash Kumar .

In Nilgiri, a nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her 35-year-old maternal uncle on Wednesday night. The accused raped the Class-V student after luring her to his house.

The girl was later traced from a village near Swarnachuda hills. She narrated her ordeal to her parents and her father soon lodged an FIR.

"The accused will shortly be forwarded to court," said inspector in charge of Nilgiri police station Ramesh Singh.

Bootleggers held

Two persons were arrested on Friday for carrying out illicit country liquor trade in Kendrapara Municipality jurisdiction. More than 350 litres of liquor was seized from their possession. The accused - Nilamadhav Swain and Umesh Chandra Swain - were arrested under Odisha Excise Act and remanded in judicial custody.