Berhampur, Feb. 7: Police arrested a 45-year-old man on charges of raping his niece, a Class III student, at Chikiti, nearly 40km from here.

The accused, Pankaj Sahu of Dhepapentho, is the maternal uncle of the eight-year-old victim, said a local resident.

Assistant sub-inspector of K. Nuagaon police station D.K. Mohanty said: “He raped the Class III student by luring her behind the school compound on February 4 while she was playing with her friends.”

A farmer by profession, Pankaj is married and has three children, including two daughters aged 17 and eight. His elder daughter is going to be married on February 18.

The girl’s mother alleged that she had found her daughter bleeding profusely and rushed her to Patrapur hospital and informed the poice.

The girl narrated the entire incident and said Pankaj had threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed anything to anyone.

She was shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital here the next day. “We had sent the victim and the accused for medical examination. The report suggested that the eight-year-old was raped and that was the cause of bleeding,” the police said.

However, Pankaj, who underwent the medical exam today, said he was under the influence of drugs during the incident. He denied having raped her.