Cuttack, July 27: A 35-year-old person was arrested today for allegedly raping an eight-year-old girl here in the city.

The accused has been identified as Sabir Khan of Shankarpur area in Bhadrak.

Police sources said Khan had allegedly raped the girl, who studied in Class II, inside an under-construction house near Indira Gandhi Women’s College last night.

According to the parents of the victim, the incident occurred around 8pm, when all the family members were watching television at home.

The accused, who was staying near their house near Satichoura with one of his relatives, lured the girl while she was playing with her friends and later raped her.

“My daughter was playing when Sabir Khan asked her to bring her paan for him from a shop nearby. He also gave her money to buy a fruit cake and later took her to an isolated place and raped her,” said father Seikh Usman (name changed), who works as a scrap vendor.

The matter came to light when the girl narrated the entire incident to her mother. Later, community members detained the accused and informed local Bidanasi police about the incident.

“We want stern action against the accused as nobody had thought that he would commit such an offence as it was only six months that he moved into our locality and was staying with his relatives who are close to our family,” said victim’s mother.

Based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s family, a case has been registered by Mahila police, who have started a probe into the incident.

The medical examination of both the victim and the accused was conducted today.