Dhenkanal, Dec. 8: Police today arrested a 21-year-old youth, who had allegedly raped a 19-year-old girl, beaten her up and left her in the forest to die on Monday.

Last evening, a villager rescued the teen from the forest. She had earlier been admitted to district headquarters hospital with serious head injuries. Today, she was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Her condition is stated to be critical.

The victim's father lodged a complaint at Dhenkanal town police station, in which he alleged that Mohanty not only raped his daughter, but also tried to kill her.

Following her statement, the police today arrested Sibashish Mohanty, 21, from his village Nagena in Sadar police limits. He has confessed to the crime and has been charged with rape and attempt to murder. The accused was working as a colour technician and the teen was employed in a cloth shop at Bhapur. They were said to have been in love for the past few months.

District superintendent of police Basanta Kumar Panigrahi said: "The two had physical relations. The teen had been insisting that the accused marry her, but Mohanty sought six months. The teen did not agree to this."

He said: "On Monday, Mohanty took the victim to a jungle on the outskirts of Dhenkanal town. There was a heated exchange between them over the marriage, and after that, the youth assaulted her sexually. The accused said a fight had broken between them and he had pushed her resulting her receiving head injuries. Then he collected all her belongings to conceal her identity and fled."