Jajpur, April 22: A priest of a Shiv shrine has been accused of raping a 15-year-old girl on the temple premises at Chakroda village.

“Today, we conducted medical examination of the victim — which confirmed that it was a case of sexual assault. Her condition is stable,” said inspector in charge of Dharmasala police station Sudarshan Dash.

The accused, identified as Rabindra Panda alias Rabinana, 45, of Chakroda village, absconded after committing the crime yesterday.

The victim’s father, who has lodged the complaint, said his daughter, a Class X student in a local government high school, had gone to Shiv temple to collect prasad yesterday afternoon.

Panda took her inside the temple’s kitchen on the pretext of giving prasad. There he allegedly raped her.

The girl came home and told her parents about the incident.

“The victim’s mother found that the child’s private parts were bleeding. Her parents then informed their neighbours about the incident. Her family members, accompanied by the villagers, rushed the girl to government hospital at Dharmasala. After preliminary medical examination, doctors informed us that it was a case of sexual assault, and accordingly, a police team went to the hospital,” said Dash.

The victim was later shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after her condition deteriorated last evening.

A case under Section 376 of the IPC and 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, has been registered against the accused.