A taxi driver was arrested in Puri on Saturday for allegedly raping and murdering a visually impaired minor girl, police said.

Banamali Barik, 35, who was arrested, is a drug edict and has a criminal record. He was a frequent visitor to the victim's house. He has confessed to the crime, District Superintendent of Police Anup Sahu told IANS.

The 15-year-old victim was a student of a blind school in the state capital Bhubaneswar, 60 km from Puri, and had gone to her village for her summer vacation.

Her family said she went missing outside their house where she had been sleeping with other family members on Thursday night.

A search was launched around midnight and her corpse was found in a nearby forest. An empty liquor bottle was found at the spot.

The accused confessed that he lured the girl and took her to a nearby under construction house and attempted to rape her. When she resisted, he took her to a forested area and inserted an iron rod in her private parts and killed her, police said.

Hundreds of women, social and political activists protested in Bhubaneswar against the barbaric crime.

Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik, who lives in Puri, created a sand sculpture on the beach to condemn the incident. The sculpture of a face holds the message: "I am not blind, society is".

Source: IBN Live