Keonjhar: Two truck drivers were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly gang-raping a minor girl after giving her a lift on their vehicle in Keonjhar district.

The incident took place on the afternoon of March 25 in a forested area near Balani village. After committing the crime, they had left her at a deserted spot at Jaribahala Chowk on the state highway and decamped, said inspector of Bamebari police station Prakash Toppo.

The victim, who had gone to uncle's house in another village, was returning home when the accused persons - Abinash Laguri, 21, and Kalia Lohar, 22, - spotted her near a roadside eatery. After enquiring about her destination, they offered her lift by saying that their truck would go in the same direction.

The gullible girl fell into their trap. On the way, they got off from the truck and forcibly dragged her to forest area and gang-raped her there. They threatened her with dire consequences if she dared to reveal the sexual assault to anyone and decamped after leaving her at an isolated site. The girl later walked for two kilometres to reach home.

The girl later narrated her ordeals to her parents, who brought her to a police station to lodge a complaint on Sunday. The police questioned the owners and staff of the roadside eateries where the girl had been offered lift by the offenders. Taking cue from them, the police cracked the case. As they were regular visitors to the highway dhaba, they were nabbed on their arrival on Tuesday evening.

The victim also identified the perpetrators of the crime.They were sent to jail after a court dismissed their bail plea.