india

Updated: Jun 02, 2019 23:10 IST

A 39-year-old man was beaten to death in Jalandhar on Sunday for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl.

Police said the girl was alone at her house while her parents were away for work when Pappu Kumar Rai, a migrant labourer from Bihar, sexually assaulted her in an inebriated condition.

“The accused was drunk when he entered the girl’s room and committed the crime,” assistant police commissioner (Central) Harsimrat Singh said.

Singh cited a preliminary probe and said some people rushed to rescue the girl when they heard her screams. He added they thrashed the accused. “By the time police reached the spot, a mob had thrashed the man seriously,” he said. He added the accused died during treatment at a hospital.

Singh said the exact cause of his death will be ascertained after a postmortem.

Doctors treating the girl said her condition is stable and she is under observation due to excessive bleeding.

The police have asked the Child Welfare Committee to ensure the girl’s care and safety and the District Legal Service Authority to make arrangements for financial assistance to her per the procedure under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Deputy police commissioner (investigation) Gurmeet Singh said they have recorded the girl’s statement and registered a case.

The family of the accused is yet to be traced. Gurmeet Singh said a murder case will be registered once his relatives record their statements. A case under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) has been registered against unidentified people, he said. Further investigations are under progress, the officials said

This is the fourth such rape case in a week in the region.

A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped on the pretext of marriage on May 28. On the same day, a 55-year-old man was arrested for raping a three-year-old girl in Kapurthala. On May 24, a 35-year-old man allegedly raped a three-year-old girl.