A 45-year-old man suspected to have raped a four-and-half-year-old girl was beaten to death by residents of Talaghattapura in Ramanagara district on Saturday.

Narayanappa, it is alleged, raped the girl, daughter of a neighbour, at Gulikamale near Talaghattapura, on Friday night. While the father of the victim did not inform his neighbours, the sight of the mother of the girl weeping inconsolably on Saturday morning intrigued the villagers who found out what happened.

“Some villagers who spoke with the distraught woman were so angry that they caught Narayanappa who worked at a construction site along with the girl's father and lived in a shed next to the victim’s, dragged him to the centre of the village and beat him up and hit with rocks,” said a police officer. Before he was lynched Narayanappa’s head and moustache were shaved to humiliate him.

The rape came to light when the girl's father, Shiva Kumar, returned to his shed around 9.30pm Friday.

He saw his wife and his another child in the shed but found his daughter missing. He initially though she may have gone to some neighbours shed to play. But, soon he heard the cries of his daughter in the shed close to his. When he rushed out, he found Narayanappa fleeing from the shed. He rescued his daughter and rushed her to the hospital for a medical check up.

“Shivakumar did not reveal anything to villagers, but the girl’s mother who could not control her emotions at seeing her daughter in pain, told the villagers what had happened to her. The villagers then began searching for Narayanappa,” police said.

Ramanagara deputy superintendent of police NM Ramalingappa said: “Narayanappa died of internal bleeding. We are trying to trace his family members in Kolar district. The girl’s parents are from Andhra Pradesh.”

Tension prevailed in the village as police tried to identify the villagers behind the lynching. Additional policemen were rushed to the village to bring to book the men who assaulted Narayanappa.A case of alleged rape and murder has been registered at Talaghattapura police station limits and investigation is on.

He saw his wife and his another child in the shed but found his daughter missing. He initially though she may have gone to some neighbours shed to play. But, soon he heard the cries of his daughter in the shed close to his. When he rushed out, he found Narayanappa fleeing from the shed. He rescued his daughter and rushed her to the hospital for a medical check up.

“Shivakumar did not reveal anything to villagers, but the girl’s mother who could not control her emotions at seeing her daughter in pain, told the villagers what had happened to her. The villagers then began searching for Narayanappa,” police said.

Ramanagara deputy superintendent of police NM Ramalingappa said: “Narayanappa died of internal bleeding. We are trying to trace his family members in Kolar district. The girl’s parents are from Andhra Pradesh.”

Tension prevailed in the village as police tried to identify the villagers behind the lynching. Additional policemen were rushed to the village to bring to book the men who assaulted Narayanappa.A case of alleged rape and murder has been registered at Talaghattapura police station limits and investigation is on.