A 48-year-old Bihar man was arrested in Assam’s Sivasagar district for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl multiple times, police said on Saturday.Police said that the accused was initially absconding but with the help of locals. (iStock)The additional superintendent of police (ASP), Sivasagar, Moidul Islam said the accused and the victim are residents of the same area under Sivasagar police station and he took advantage of the absence of her parents.According to the family members of the victim, the matter came to light on Friday after she complained of severe pain in her stomach. “Her family members said that she was raped multiple times at her home in the absence of her parents,” officer said.“She is the eldest child and she used to take care of her siblings when her parents went out for work during the day. The accused took advantage of this, entered the house and allegedly raped her multiple times,” he added.Islam said that the victim’s family members lodged a complaint on Friday afternoon and a case under section 65(1) (raping a girl under 16 years of age) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 was registered immediately.Police said that the accused was initially absconding but with the help of locals, he was apprehended and later formally arrested. “He has been produced before the court and we are investigating the matter further,” officer said.Also Read:Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma assures stringent measures against drug menace“We took a stand against it and handed him over to the police. We demand exemplary punishment for him and we stand with the victim’s family,” locals said.According to the police, the accused is a Pani Puri vendor from Bihar’s Samastipur district in Sivasagar town.“He stays in a rented house in the same neighborhood where the victim’s family resides, and the parents of the victim are daily-wage labourers,” officer said.Police said that the victim has been undergoing treatment since she fell ill and her mandatory medical examinations have been ordered. “We’ll record her statement once she recovers and it will be done under the direct observation of the court,” the additional SP said.He added that the statement of the accused has been recorded and all other possible evidence has been collected.