Baripada: Police on Thursday arrested three persons on charges of kidnapping a 13-year-old girl.

The accused - Sunil Tiria, 26, Simla Gagrai, 27, and Padma Birua, 25 - are Sanahatanabeda villagers. They were sent to jail after a local court rejected their bail pleas.

Sub-divisional police officer Amulya Kumar Dhir said Sunil, a driver, had masterminded the offence, along with the other two. On Sunday, they kidnapped the girl and kept her in the house of Sunil's relative. They fled to a nearby forest after the police raided their houses.

They were later nabbed from the forest.

"Although her parents had alleged that she had been raped, investigations and the medical examinations revealed that the girl had not been assaulted. Her statement was recorded before a magistrate. The girl had told the magistrate that she had not been raped," he said.

In another development, Balasore Sadar police arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedly beating his wife with a wooden plank, suspecting her fidelity, and causing severe injuries.