Bhubaneswar, Nov. 14: Police today arrested a 45-year-old man on the charge of raping his minor daughter.

The incident took place in Jatni town, around 20km from here, within Jatni police station limits.

The man was taken into custody after his daughter who is a school dropout, had lodged a complaint with Jatni police alleging that her father had been sexually exploiting her since the time she was 11 years old. She is 17 now.

The police said the accused had allegedly raped the girl on November 11. “The girl alleged that her father used to exploit her from the age of 11. She confided this to her mother, but her mother tacitly supported her husband by urging her to keep mum. Disgusted, the girl left for her grandmother’s house, which is 2km away, nine months ago,” said a police official.

The obsessed father followed her there as well and insisted her to return home. He wanted her to wash his clothes. Once they reached their home, the father again forced himself upon her.

On November 11, the accused reached his in-law’s house and allegedly raped the girl again. The traumatised daughter could not bear the torture and decided to end her life. She went to Jatni railway station with the intention of ending her life. However, she changed her mind at the last minute.

“The girl changed her mind and reached the police station next day with her grandmother and lodged a complaint. The accused had also threatened her with dire consequences if she dared to inform anyone about the sexual advances on her,” said a police official.

The girl, who is the eldest child in the family, has two brothers. She had discontinued her studies recently, dropping out of school in class IX.

Acting on the complaint, the police arrested the man and conducted medical tests on both the accused and the victim.

“The man was arrested under section 376 (2)(F) of the IPC, which deals with the rape of a minor. Besides, we have also booked him under sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC,” said inspector in charge of Jatni police station Ranjit Kumar Prusty.