An Uttar Pradesh police constable has been arrested on charges of raping a seven-year-old girl at his one-room flat here, police said on Thursday.
The crime came to light after an angry mob of villagers caught Subhash Singh, 45, posted in the Sales Tax Department in Gautam Budh Nagar, near his accommodation in Surajpur, thrashed him, and handed him over to police around 8.30 a.m. on Thursday.
"Subhash took the girl, playing alone outside her home, to his flat around 3 p.m. on Wednesday and sexually assaulted her," Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suniti told IANS.
A native of Uttar Pradesh's Kaithi village, he escaped after neighbours gathered on hearing the girl's cries for help.
Subhash returned to his room early on Thursday and allegedly attacked two women neighbours when they tried to catch hold of him. Later, villagers caught and beat him up.
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Police have lodged an FIR under Sections 342 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code dealing with rape, and punishment for wrongful confinement and Sections 5/6 of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act.
Police said it was awaiting the medical report of the girl from the district hospital in Noida's Sector 30.
The girl's mother works as a factory labourer and hails from Bihar. The child's father died a few years ago.
--IANS
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