Bhubaneswar, July 13: Police have arrested two persons for allegedly molesting a 20-year-old girl in the Remuna legislator's official quarters at MLA Colony within the Kharavela Nagar police limits here.

The Remuna MLA, Gobinda Chandra Das, was not present in his quarters when the police arrested the accused last night.

The accused have been identified as Parameswar Das, 37, of Balasore and the MLA's driver, Dillip Behera, 35, a native of Mayurbhanj, after getting a formal complaint from the victim.

The police said the girl, along with her father, had come to the city on July 11 to take admission in a hotel management course. The duo had been staying in the MLA's residence since then.

It is a common practice that a person, who visits the city on official or educational purposes, may reside in the quarters of the MLA, to whose constituency he or she belongs. But, the MLA has to approve it beforehand.

"Yesterday around 8.30pm, Parameswar, who was also staying in the quarters, knocked the door of the room, in which the father-daughter duo were staying. Then, the girl alleged, Parameswar had misbehaved with them and made advances towards her," said a police official.

Later, Behera, who was also present in the quarters at the time of the incident, indirectly helped the other accused by allegedly advising the victim not to report the matter to the police. "Both the accused were arrested on charges of molestation," said police commissioner R.P. Sharma.

The police said that since the arrival of the father-daughter duo, both Parameswar and Behera had been peeping through the window of the room, in which the girl was staying. Though she sensed danger, the girl chose not to leave the quarter. "Despite such notorious activities, the victim, along with her father, stayed in the quarters as she had to appear for a competitive examination yesterday," said a police official.

Contacted over the incident, the Remuna MLA pleaded ignorance and said that he was in Bangalore.

"I am in Bangalore, along with three other MLAs, on an official visit. Though I am not aware about what had exactly happened in my quarters, the police informed me that they arrested two persons from my quarter. If the accused have done something wrong, they must be punished under the law. Behera is not my driver, and I had temporarily hired him as the person, who used to drive my car, was unwell," he told The Telegraph over phone.