Nayagarh: A mentally-challenged woman was allegedly raped and stabbed at Baunsiapada village under Itamati police limits in Odisha's Nayagarh district, last night.

According to reports, the victim was sleeping at the verandah of a house in the locality, during which a youth of the village namely Panda raped her. The accused, who was reportedly in an inebriated state, stabbed the woman with knife before fleeing the spot.

The victim's family members spotted her lying in a pool of blood and rushed her to the Nayagarh District Headquarters Hospital, where she was undergoing treatment.

The Itamati police started investigation into the incident by questioning the woman and her kin. Efforts were on by cops to trace and nab the accused.