Rourkela: A notorious criminal, now on bail, allegedly attempted to set a minor girl’s house on fire after his failed rape bid was reported to police in Talsara area of Odisha’s Sundargarh district.

The incident took place at a remote village under Balishankara block Monday night. The accused, identified as Mukesh Singh, was earlier actively associated with the ‘Pahadi Cheeetah’ criminal outfit in the area.

As per police sources, Singh sneaked into the house of the 13-year-old girl on Sunday night and grabbed her. When she screamed, her parents woke up and rushed to her for help. Singh fled the place but threatened the family of dire consequences if they complained to the police.

However, the girl’s father on Monday lodged a complaint with Talsara police. After learning about this, Singh reportedly tried to set the girl’s house afire. However, the fire was soon doused before it could spread.

Inspector-in-charge of Talsara police station Pushpendra Sagar said a complaint has been received and efforts are on to trace and apprehend Singh who is at large. Possible involvement of more persons is also under verification.

Singh has a criminal history and was sent to jail in January in a pending extortion case. He had later come out of jail on bail, police said.