A rape victim’s father allegedly chopped off the hands of the 17-year-old accused and left him bleeding by the canal near Bathinda’s Jhumba village on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old was accused of raping the man’s 7-month-old daughter in April 2014.

Both hailed from Muktsar’s Kotli Ablu village.

On Tuesday, the case was scheduled for a hearing at the Rama Mandi district courts. After the hearing was postponed, the father allegedly proposed a compromise, and later offered to drop the accused home on his motorbike, said police sources. The incident happened during the ride back to the village together.

Police claimed that the man then stopped near the canal, tied the 17-year-old to a tree and hacked his hands off.

“A few villagers heard the juvenile’s cries and ran towards the canal. They found the victim bleeding profusely… the father had fled by then,” said SSP Bathinda Swapan Sharma.

The rape accused was rushed to the Bathinda civil hospital by the villagers, who also informed the police. His condition was reported to be critical.

Meanwhile, the police said it was conducting raids to nab the man after booking him under attempt to murder charges.

In April 2014, the 17-year-old was allegedly caught red-handed by the rape victim’s mother, while raping their daughter and an FIR in the

case registered.

At the time of the incident, the man, along with his wife and 7-month-old daughter, lived at a Rama Mandi locality, where the couple worked at a brick kiln nearby.

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