A 22-year-old youth was arrested from Parsudih on Saturday for allegedly raping a minor girl behind a bush near Sadar Hospital at Khaasmahal while she had gone their answer nature's call.

Police believe the accused, Sikandar Hussain, a resident of Makdampur, about 2km from Khaasmahal, had been stalking the girl for long.

According to an FIR lodged by the victim's parents with police at Parsudih, the girl, a resident of Jharkhand Bustee behind the Sadar Hospital, had gone to relieve herself near a bush at about 6pm on Friday. The accused accosted her then. He used one of his hands to gag her and then raped her.

According to the FIR, soon after returning home, the victim narrated the incident to her parents, who then approach the Parsudih police station. Police swung into action and conducted raids through Friday night. Finally, police were able to nab the culprit at his house in Makdampur on Saturday morning.

OC of Parsudih thana Rajendra Prasad Das said the victim who was 14 years-old had confronted the accused on an earlier occasion too, and had revealed this to her parents. "The accused had attempted to outrage the modesty of the minor earlier also. The victim's parents had then scolded him," he said

The OC said the victim had been sent to MGM Medical College and Hospital for examination. The accused, Sikandar Hussain, was sent to Ghaghidih Central Jail after he was produced before a judicial magistrate.