Berhampur: Six women, including the stepmother of a 16-year-old girl, were arrested on Tuesday for stripping, tying and branding her with a hot frying stick on her face, hands, abdomen, buttocks and private parts allegedly because she spoke to a young man defying her elders.

The incident happened at a village in B.N. Pur police station limits. The police arrested all the six women and forwarded them to court on Tuesday. Apart from the stepmother, all the other accused are neighbours of the victim.

The accused women had been torturing the girl by keeping her confined to a house since Friday. Two villagers, who did not wish to be identified, informed the district Child Line about the incident on Sunday evening after hearing continuous screams from the house. Child Line activists swung into action on getting the news. They rescued the girl and admitted her to MKCG Medical College and Hospital on Monday.

Co-ordinator of the Child Line in Berhampur zone Hiranya Kumar Ray, who personally went to rescue the girl along with the team, later lodged an FIR at B.N. Pur police station against all the accused.

"The girl is in trauma and is undergoing treatment in the female surgery ward at the MKCG. During counselling, the girl told me that all the accused women locked her in a room and repeatedly branded her with a hot iron frying pan," said Ray.

The girl's father works elsewhere as a daily wage labourer, while she used to live at a rented house with her brother and stepmother. The girl's mother had passed away a few years ago.

"When we reached the spot on Monday morning, we found the main door of the house bolted from inside. As we tried to enter, a group of women stopped us. Later, we entered the house with the help of the police and rescued her," said Ray.

"We have registered a case and arrested the girl's stepmother and all other accused," said second officer of B.N. Pur police station Diptiranjan Pradhan.