Police in Odisha’s Jajpur district have arrested a leader of the youth wing of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on charges of a raping an 11-year-old girl after kidnapping her, officials said on Sunday.

Subhas Khuntia, president of Rasulpur block Biju Yuva Janata Dal, was arrested and produced in a court on Saturday evening after the victim and her father lodged a complaint against him with the local police.

Vyasanagar sub-divisional police officer Chinmay Nayak said Khuntia allegedly abducted the girl while she was collecting cow dung on February 23.

The crime came to light after the survivor managed to escape from the house where Khuntia had confined her on February 26. In her complaint to the police, the girl alleged that she was sexually assaulted by the BJD leader between February 23 and February 26.

“We have arrested the accused based on the complaint filed against him. There is prima facie evidence,” Nayak said.

Violent crimes against children have been on the rise in Odisha.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau data, the state recorded 1427 cases of child rape cases under Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012 and section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The NCRB data said Odisha was among the top five states which recorded such crimes in 2018.

A 16-year-old girl delivered a baby while working in a Bangalore household in November last year. Subsequent investigations revealed that she was gang-raped in early 2019.