Jajpur: Police on Tuesday arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly trying to rape a mentally disabled minor girl at Badabalikuda village in Balichandrapur police limits of the district.

The accused has been identified as Dhaneswar Behera of the same village, the police said.

The police said the crime took place on Monday noon at Badabalikuda village when the 13-year-old mentally disabled girl had gone to a bamboo orchard at her village to answer nature's call. "Finding the girl in the bamboo bush, Dhaneswar held and molested her. Fortunately, the girl could raise an alarm for help," said Bailchandrapur police station inspector-in-charge Rakesh Chandra Tripathy.

On hearing the girl's scream, some local people rushed to the spot. Seeing them approaching the area, the accused started running from the scene. However, the villagers got hold of him and beat him up. Later, they handed him over to local police.

A few hours later, the girl's parents filed an FIR with the police. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case against Dhaneswar and arrested him.

"When we questioned him at the police station, the accused confessed to have committed the crime," a police officer said.

The police arrested the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

The police also conducted medical examinations on both the accused and the girl at the district headquarters hospital in Jajpur town. The police said they were waiting for the medical reports of the girl, and further action would be taken on the basis of the report.

The accused on Tuesday was produced in a local court and later remanded in judicial custody after his bail application was rejected.