Police arrested six persons on charges of alleged sexual assault of a minor girl and circulation of obscene MMS and visuals in Sambalpur, police said.
Based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s father at the Mahila police station here, police made the arrests on Saturday.
ASP S K Panigrahi said while six persons have been arrested, another person involved in the incident is still at large. He said the person has been identified and efforts were on to nab him.
The arrested persons have been identified as Ranjan Oram (21), Muna Oram (19), Amira Pradhan (19), Prashanta Dansana (34), Sunil Mirdha (22) and Jayamangal Pradhan.
The ASP said although the incident had taken place in July this year, the victim had not informed her family members until the visuals of her rape, recorded during the incident, went viral through an MMS.
The police said the incident took place in July, when the girl had travelled with her “boyfriend” to Jamadarpali area in Hirakud Dam’s right dyke in an auto-rickshaw.
Jayamangal Pradhan, of Ainthapali area, the driver of the auto-rickshaw after dropping them at the spot, had informed the other accused persons about the trip of the lovers. The other accused then reached the spot and forcibly took the girl to an isolated place where Amira Pradhan and the absconding accused allegedly sexually assaulted her. Lewd visuals of the sexual assault was recorded on a mobile phone by one of the accused, the police said.
ASP Panigrahi said some people who heard the cries of the victim rushed to the spot and rescued her from the clutches of the miscreants.
One of the arrested accused, Sunil Mirdha, owner of a mobile shop, who had allegedly downloaded the video from the mobile phone is suspected of having a role in circulation of the clippings through an MMS, said Panigrahi.
