Odisha Auto Driver Sexually Assaults Minor Girl, Threatens To Set Her On Fire

An autorickshaw driver was arrested for sexually assaulting a minor girl and allegedly threatening to set her on fire if she resisted in Odisha's Cuttack, officials said on Monday. The incident occurred on August 8 but was reported to the police last week after the girl informed her family.

According to the complaint, the minor girl was travelling with a friend from Jagatpur to Badambadi in an autorickshaw. When they arrived near Shikharpur, the girl asked the accused auto driver if he had water. When he denied, they asked him to stop, and the girl's friend went looking for water.

During this time, the auto driver tried to sexually assault her inside the vehicle by touching her inappropriately, she said.

When she resisted, the accused allegedly threatened to douse her with petrol and "burn her alive".

A few days later, she told her family about the incident, who immediately filed a complaint at the Chauliaganj police station.

The police formed teams to find the accused and subsequently arrested him, officials said.

The survivor also went through a medical examination, they said.

""Following the complaint lodged at Chauliaganj police station, our special team conducted the investigation. We immediately conducted the medical examination of the victim, along with our other formalities, and the victim properly cooperated with us throughout the investigation. With the inputs of the victim and CCTV verifications, we found the autorickshaw. Soon after, the accused was also arrested, and further investigation is going on," Cuttack Deputy Commissioner of Police, Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo, said.

(With inputs from Dev Kumar Ghosh)