Bhubaneswar, Sept. 23: A 55-year-old priest was today arrested for raping a seven-year-old girl near Ganapati Nagar in Nayapalli.

Residents caught the priest, Madhab Chandra Panda, after the victim cried for help.

Police said that Madhab took the victim along with him to a deserted place and raped her by gagging her mouth with a towel. The incident took place at around 10am. When the priest removed the towel from her mouth, the girl started crying for help.

“On hearing her scream, we hurried to the place and caught the priest and handed him over to the police,” said Menka, who rescued the victim. The parents of the girl then lodged a complaint with Mahila police station.

“We have sent the victim for medical test. A case has been registered in this connection and we have arrested Madhab,” said inspector in-charge of Mahila police station Sujata Panda.

Further investigation by the police has revealed that Madhab used to visit the girl’s house and was known to her. He is a priest at a nearby temple for last five years.

This is the third incident in last few months where a minor has been raped in the city.

On September 13, the police arrested a 50-year-old man for raping a seven-year-old girl. The accused, Santosh Das, a carpenter, had raped the minor after luring her with chocolates at Bharatpur on the city outskirts. The accused had initially managed to escape, but was later apprehended near Kharvela Nagar.