In yet another horrific incident of crime against minor girls, a nine-year-old was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 55-year-old man in Guntur district, triggering outrage with locals vandalising his house and women's outfits staging protests today.
The incident occurred last night at Dachepalli village, police said.
The man, the girl's neighbour, committed the crime after luring her to his house by promising her chocolates, they said.
Police said special teams have been formed to trace the accused Subbaiah who is absconding.
The girl has been hospitalised and her condition is stable, district collector Kona Sasidhar told reporters after visiting her at the hospital and consoling her family.
DGP M Malakondaiah said as many as 15 police teams were searching for the accused, a rickshaw puller.
Subbaiah was married twice. He was estranged from his wives and staying with his son at Dachepalli, the DGP said.
Condemning the incident, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister N Chinarajappa directed police to take stringent action against the accused.
Naidu announced a reward to those who help the police in nabbing the culprit.
Police said locals vandalised the man's house after coming to know about the incident.
They blocked vehicular traffic on Addanki-Narketpalli highway through the night demanding action, they added.
Women's organisations staged a protest in front of the hospital this morning, demanding strict action against the culprit, the police said.
YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan condemned the incident.
Kalyan expressed anguished over the incident.
"...To create a fear among people from committing such crimes, we should have a system wherein the guilty are punished publicly. I wish that to happen..." he tweeted.
Gurazala MLA Yerapatineni Srinivasa Rao announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the girl's family.
The incident comes amid outrage over the Kathua incident in which an eight-year-old girl was allegedly held captive, tortured and raped before being killed.
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