Jajpur: Police have registered a case against a village sarpanch for allegedly molesting a woman at Banamalipur village here.

The victim, a homemaker and mother of two kids, accused Tapas Kumar Ray, the sarpanch of Majhipada panchayat in Barachana panchayat samiti, of molesting her at Banamalipur village of the same panchayat.

The accused molested the woman in her house while her husband was absent, the police said.

In her complaint to the police, the victim alleged that Ray came to her house on Saturday on the pretext of providing her a pucca house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana when her husband was absent. Taking advantage of that, Ray molested her.

The accused fled the scene when she raised alarm. She also alleged that before leaving her home, Ray threatened her with dire consequence if she narrated the incident to anyone.

"I had applied to the block authorities for a pucca house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. I had also approached Ray to help me. He came to my house on that pretext and molested me," the victim alleged in her FIR.

The woman narrated the incident to her husband when he returned home on Saturday night.

Following this, the woman and her husband approached the police and lodged a complaint against Ray on Sunday night.

Balichandrapur police station inspector-in-charge Rajesh Kumar Tripathy said the cops had registered a case against Ray after recording the victim's statement.

The police said Ray was absconding. Tripathy said the police were raiding possible hideouts to arrest the accused and claimed that he would be arrested shortly.

"We are on the job and will arrest him shortly," he said.

A BJD youth leader was arrested for allegedly raping a woman at the party office in Dasarathpur block of the district on the pretext of providing her a house under the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana in January.