Local people assaulted the accused, who is a resident of the same village. (Representational)

A 40-year-old man allegedly raped a minor girl, who is speech and hearing impaired, in Chatra district of Jharkhand, following which he was severely beaten up by the local people, the police said today.

The 14-year-old girl had taken cattle for grazing at Kendinagar under Rajpur police station limits on Monday when the alleged incident took place.

Chatra sub-divisional police officer Varun Razzak said she narrated her ordeal to her family members in sign language on Tuesday.

As the news spread, local people assaulted the accused, who is a resident of the same village.

The police rescued him and admitted him to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIIMS) in Ranchi, Razzak said adding that he was arrested.

The police also registered a case against 14 villagers for beating up the accused, Razzak said.