Berhampur/Bhubaneswar, February 9 A seven-year-old girl of Tibetan origin was allegedly raped by a minor boy in the Gajapati district of Odisha, police said on Monday.
The incident took place in a village under the jurisdiction of the Mohana police station on Sunday, and the 16-year-old accused has been apprehended.
The victim's family is one of the thousands who fled from Tibet along with their spiritual leader in the 1960s and settled in the district.
The accused, who lives in the same area but belongs to a different community, allegedly raped the minor inside her home while she was alone. Her parents had gone to attend a social function, police said.
The mother of the girl filed a police complaint against the boy after the victim narrated the incident.
"We have registered a case against the boy under various sections of the BNS and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and we have launched an investigation," said Gajapati Superintendent of Police Jatidra Panda.
He said that medical tests have been conducted on both the accused and the victim. The accused will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
Sources said that the family of the victim had previously provided financial support to the accused on various occasions, including his education. He is known to the victim's family and lives close to their home.
Approximately 2500 Tibetans were settled in the Gajapati district in 1964. They have been staying in five camps at Chandragiri, Jiranga, Takillipadar, Labarsingh, and Mahendragarh since then.
Meanwhile, Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das said, "The sexual assault on a Tibetan minor exposes a disturbing breakdown of law and order under the BJP government. Such disgraceful crimes tarnish the state's global image and wound our collective conscience."
"The safety and dignity of every woman must be an uncompromising priority," he said in a post on X.
