Surathkal: A 60-year-old man from Chelairu here was arrested by the Surathkal Police, who had earlier registered a case against him under the POCSO Act following a complaint by a girl alleging that he had raped her.

The arrested man, Sundar Poojari, is accused of raping the girl when she was on her way home through an interior road near Mukka after getting off a bus.

The police stated in their preliminary report that the incident occurred in October. As the girl was in depression following the incident, her mother took her for a medical check-up, during which the girl revealed that she had been raped.

Based on the complaint filed by the girl, the Surathkal Police registered a case against Poojari and initiated further legal action.

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Bhubaneswar (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma threw a "crazy person" barb at Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday after the Congress leader accused him of "abusing state power to harass his political opponents and critics".

Sarma, who arrived at the airport here before proceeding to Puri to pray at the Jagannath Temple, challenged Gandhi to make his passport details public and reveal which countries the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha had visited.

His scathing remarks came after Gandhi termed Sarma "most corrupt in the country" and said the Congress stood with Pawan Khera, who has alleged that the Assam CM's wife has multiple passports and offshore properties, which were not declared in the chief minister's election affidavit.

The Sarmas have rejected the allegations as false.

In a post on X, Gandhi alleged, "The present CM of Assam is the most corrupt in the country. He will not escape the law. His abuse of state power to harass his political opponents and critics is against the Constitution."

"The questions that are being raised have to be probed. Transparency, accountability of power and the rule of law are the basis of our Constitutional values. The Congress stands with Pawan Khera. We will not be intimidated," he has said.

Responding to reporters' questions over Gandhi's remarks, Sarma said, "Let me make it very clear, neither I nor any member of my family has a golden visa, as alleged. Rahul Gandhi is a crazy person."

"I challenge Rahu Gandhi to present his passport in front of the media, and I will bring mine and those of my family members. Let the media know who is visiting which country," Sarma said.

The Assam chief minister also said that Rahul Gandhi "is not God". "If I make allegations against him, will he be ready for a probe into those? He should know that others, too, have the right to ask him questions."

Asked about the Supreme Court staying the Telangana High Court's order granting Kehra one-week transit anticipatory bail in the case registered for levelling allegations against Sarma's wife, the BJP leader said he was not aware of it.

"However, according to me, the Telangana High Court cannot grant transit bail to Khera as he is not a resident of that state. The law will take its own course," Sarma said.

The senior BJP leader said he would join his party's election campaign in West Bengal from Thursday.

Later, in a post on X, he said, "On Assamese New Year, offered my prayers to Mahaprabhu Jagannath for Assam's continued peace and progress." Along with the post, he also shared a video of his visit to the temple.