Bhubaneswar, Nov. 8: A 34-year-old man today allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl near Delang in Puri district. Later, the police arrested the accused Akshaya Parida, a resident of the neighbouring village of the victim.

The incident took place around 6.30am when the victim, a Class X student, was going to attend her tuition class near Delang market on her bicycle. She was waylaid by the accused near Manikia.

“Parida hit her and after she fell down from the cycle, he took her to the nearby Luna river bank and raped her. Later, Parida also threatened her not to disclose the matter to anyone,” said a police officer of Delang police station.

Later, the girl reached the coaching centre, and fainted there.

When the lady teacher of the centre asked her what went wrong, she narrated the incident after which her family members were informed.

“The girl always goes to the coaching centre with another friend. But the other girl did not accompany her today and Parida used this opportunity as he has been keeping a tab on the movement of the girl,” said a police officer.

“We arrested Parida and sent the girl for medical examination. Parida is a native of the neighbouring village of the girl,” said inspector in charge of Delang police station, S.K. Natha Sharma.

As soon as the news spread, hundreds of local residents blocked the Delang-Khurda-Kanasa road for nearly eight hours.

The mob demanded a government job for the victim along with her educational expenses to be borne by the state government.