Jajpur: Police have arrested a 31-year-old man on charges of attempting to rape a married woman at Pairakha village in the district.

The accused has been identified as Bata Krushna Sethy, a father of two, of the same village. The incident took place while the woman was alone in her house.

According to the complaint filed with Binjharpur police, Sethy had entered the woman's house while her husband was absent on Tuesday night. Finding her alone, the accused tried to rape the woman. The woman raised an alarm. Hearing her screams, local residents rushed to spot and caught the man.

The mob then tied the accused to a tree in front of the woman's house and thrashed him black and blue.

Later, acting on a tip-off, Binjharpur police reached the spot and rescued the man from the mob.

"The accused had entered the woman's house to rape her as she was alone there. But, his attempt was foiled after the woman screamed for help," said Binjharpur police station inspector-in-charge Suchitra Brijya Das. The police arrested Sethy following an FIR by the woman's husband.

"We arrested him under various sections of IPC on Wednesday night and produced him in a local court on Thursday," he said.

Sethy was sent to jail after the court rejected his bail application, said the police.